647 


U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

OFFICE  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS— BULLETIN  NO.  142. 

A.     C.    TRUE,    Director. 


inH  ' 


<V-^ 


SEVENTEENTH  ANNUAL  C0N\l3^^ 


OF  THE  ASSOCIATION   OF 


American  Agricultural  Cotes  and  Exneri 


HELD    AT 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C, 
NOVEMBER  17-19,  1903. 


EDITED    BY 
A.   C.   TRUE  and  W.   H.  BEAL,   for  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations, 
AND 
for  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Association. 


fiiSHlEr^ 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING    OFFICE. 

1904. 


THE  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGES. 


Alabama — Auburn:    Charles  O.  Thaeh/' 

Normal:  Win.  H.  Councill."     Tmkegee: 

Booker  T.  Washington.6 

Arizona — Tucson:  Kendrick  C.  Babcock/' 

Arkansas — FayettevUle:   Henry    S.   Hart- 

zog.« 
California — Berkley:     Benjamin      Ide 

"Wheeler." 
Colorado — Fort  Gollvbs:  Barton  O.  Ayles- 

worth/' 
Connecticut — Starrs:  R.  W.  Stkason.a 
Delaware — Newark:      Geo.  A.    Hartor.  " 

Dover:  W.  C.  Jdson.J* 
Florida— La  he    (My:     Thos.     II.    Talia- 
ferro/'   Tallahassee:  Nathan  B.  Young/' 
Georgia— 4 I  thru*:   H.    C.  White. «     Col- 
li ye:  R.  R.  Wright/' 
Idaho — Moscpw:  J.  A.  McLean/ 
Illinois — tJrbqnq:  Andrew  S.  Drainer/' 
Indiana — Ljtfagette:  Winthrop  Ellsworth 

Stone/' 
I o wa — .  1  rnes :  Albert  Boynton  Storms,  a 
Kansas — Manhattan:  Ernest  R.  Nichols/' 
Kentucky — Lexington:  J.  K.  Patterson." 

Frankfort:  James  S.  Hatlunvay/' 
Louisiana — Baton  Rouge.-Thos.  P.  Boyd." 

New  Orleans.-  H.  A.  Hill/' 
Maine — Orono:  George-Emery  Fellows." 
Maryland—  College   Park:  R.   W.  Silves- 
ter /'     Princess  Anne:  Frank  Trigg,  & 
Mass  aciicsetts — Amherst:       Henry     H. 
Goodell/' 

MICHIGAN— Agricultural     College:      J.     L. 

Snyder." 

Minnesota — St.  Antfwny  Par):,  St.  Paul: 
Cyrus  Northrop.  ° 

MISSISSIPPI — Agricultural  College:  J.  C. 
Hardy."      ]]'estside:  W.  H.  Lanier/' 

Missouri — Columbia:  R. II.  Jesse/'  Jeffer- 
son, City:  B.  F.  Allen. « 

Montana — Pennon:  James  Reid/' 

Nebraska — Lincoln:  E.  Benjamin  An- 
drews. C 


Nevada — Reno:  Joseph  E.  Stubb-." 
New     Hampshire — Puritan*:    Win.     P. 
<;ii>i)s." 

New    Jersey — New     Brunswick:    Austin 

Seott/' 
New  Mexico — Mesilla  Park:  Luther  Ftfs- 

ter." 

New  York — Ithaca:  Jacob  Gould  Scbur- 
man/' 

North  Carolina — West  Raleigh:  G.  T. 
Winston."  Greensboro,:  James  B.  Dud- 
ley/' 

North  Dakota — Agricultural  College:  J. 
H.  Worst/' 

(  >mo — (olumhns:  William  Oxley  Thomp- 
son." 

Oklahoma — St  ill /rater:  Angelo  ('.  Scott. a 
Langston:  Inman  E.  Pag 

Oregon — Cor  rail  is:  Thos.  M.  Gatch/' 

Pennsylvania — State  College:  George  W. 
Atherton/' 

Rhode  Island— Kingston:  Kenyon  L. 
Butterlield/' 

South  Carolina — Chmson  College:  P.  H. 
Mel  1 . "   Orangeburg :  Thomas  E.  Miller. « 

Socth  Dakota — Brookings:  James  Chal- 
mers/' 

Tennessee — Knoxvuh:  ( 'has. W.  Dabney.  a 

Texas — College  Station:  David  F.  Hous- 
ton."    J'rairieeien-:  E.  L.  Blackshear.« 

Dtaii — Logan:  W.  J.  Kerr.« 

Vermont — Burlington:  M.  H.  Buckham.fi- 

Virginia — Placksln/rg:  J.  M.  McBryde.a 
Hampton:  II.  B.  Frissell. h 

Washington — Pullman :  E.  A.  Bryan." 

West  Virginia — Morgantovm:  D.  B.  Pur- 
inton."    Institute:  J.  McIIenry  Jones. & 

W isi ionsin — Madison :  Chas.  Richard  Van 
Hise." 

Wyoming; — Pannnie:  Charles  Willard 
Lewis.0 


a  President. 


b  Principal. 


c  Chancellor. 


647 


U.  S.  DEPARTMENT   OF  AGRICULTURE. 

OFFICE  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS— BULLETIN  NO.  142. 

A.     C.     TRUE,    Director. 


PROCEEDINGS 


SEVENTEENTH  ANNUAL  CONVENTION 

OF   THE   ASSOCIATION   OF 

American  Agricultural  Colleges  aud  Experiment  Stations 

HELD    AT 

WASHINGTON,  13.  C, 
NOVEMBER  17-19,  1903. 


EDITED    BY 

A.   C.   TRUE  and  W.   H.   BEAL,   for  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations, 

AND 

H.   C.  WHITE,   for  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Association. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT     PRINTING    OFPIC 

1904. 


OFFICE  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS. 

A.  C.  True,  Ph.  D.—  Director. 

E.  W.  Allen,  Ph.  D. — Assistant  Director  and  Editor  of  Experiment  Station  Record. 

W.  H.  BKAii— Chief  of  Editorial  Division. 

John  Hamilton — Farmers'  Institute  Specialist. 

C.  E.  Johnston — Chief  Clerk. 

EDITORIAL    DEPARTMENT. 

E.  W.  Allen,  Ph.  D.,  and  H.  W.  Lawson — Chemistry,  Dairy  Farming,  and  Dairying. 

W.  H.  Beal — Agricultural  Physics  and  Engineering. 

Walter  H.  Evans,  Ph.  D. — Botany  and  Diseases  of  Plants. 

C.  F.  Langworthy,  Ph.  D. — Foods  and  Animal  Production. 

J.  I.  Schulte — Field  Crops. 

E.  Y.  Wilcox,  Ph.  D. — Entomology  and  Veterinary  Science. 

C.  B.  Smith — Horticulture. 

D.  J.  Crosby — Agricultural  Institutions. 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 

Office  of  Experiment  Stations, 
Washington,  D.  CI,  February  5,  1901^. 
Sir:  1  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  for  publication  Bulletin 
No.  14^  of  this  Office,  containing  the  proceedings  of  the  Seventeenth 
Annual  Convention  of  the  Association  of  American  Agricultural  Col- 
leges and  Experiment  Stations,  held  at  Washington.  D.  C  November 
17-19,  1903. 

Respectfully.  A.  C.  True, 

Director. 
Hon.  James  Wilson. 

v  ,-,-,  tary  of  Agriculture. 


CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Officers  and  committees  of  the  association 9 

List  of  delegates  and  visitors  in  attendance 11 

Constitution  of  the  association 13 

Minutes  of  the  general  session 17 

Report  of  the  executive  committee 17 

Report  of  treasurer 20 

Report  of  bibliographer 21 

Farmers'  institutes 28 

Appropriations  for  mining  schools  and  experiment  stations 30 . 

Report  of  the  committee  on  indexing  agricultural  literature 30 

Report  of  the  committee  on  uniform  fertilizer  and  feeding-stuffs  laws 31 

Vacancies  on  standing  committees 33 

Report  of  the  committee  on  graduate  study  at  Washington 33 

Address  of  the  president  of  the  association 33 

Memorial  address  on  President  W.  L.  Broun 42 

Exhibit  at  St.  Louis  Exposition 44 

Designation  of  substations  and  trial  stations 53 

Pure  food  legislation 53 

Military  instruction  in  land-grant  colleges 54,  86 

Amendment  of  the  constitution 60 

Animal  and  plant  breeding 61 

Methods  of  seed  testing 62 

Experiment  Station  Record 62,  85 

History  of  experiment  stations 62 

Illness  of  ex-President  B.  F.  Koons „ 63 

Methods  of  teaching  agriculture 63 

Graduate  work  in  agriculture 77 

Cooperation  between  experiment  stations  and  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture    78 

Rural  engineering 78 

Uniform  fertilizer  and  feeding-stuffs  laws 84 

Plans  for  new  buildings,  Department  of  Agriculture 87 

Organization  of  Section  on  College  "Work  and  Administration 87 

Organization  of  Section  on  Experiment  Station  Work 87 

Election  of  officers 87 

Place  of  next  meeting  of  convention 87 

Resolution  of  thanks 88 

Minutes  of  the  sections 89 

Section  on  College  Work 89 

The  mission  of  the  land-grant  colleges 89 

Section  on  Agriculture  and  Chemistry 95 

Paper  on  the  present  status  of  soil  investigation,  by  C.  G.  Hopkins. . .  95 
Paper  on  differences  between  four  Southern  and  four  Northern  soils 
and  improvements  in  soil  management  which  these  differences  sug- 
gest, by  F.  H.  King 104 

5 


6 

Minutes  of  the  sections — Continued. 

Section  on  Agriculture  and  Chemistry — Continued.  Page. 

Extension  and  practical  application  of  soil  surveys,  by  Milton  Whitney .  Ill 
Paper  on  chemistry  of  soils  as  related  to  crop  production,  by  E.  W. 

Hilgard 117 

Paper  on  utility  of  soil  surveys  in  the  West,  by  R.  H.  Forbes 121 

Uniform  fertilizer  and  feeding-stuffs  laws 1 23 

Paper  on  Shall  we  say  nitrogen  or  "ammonia,"  phosphorus  or  "  phos- 
phoric acid, ' '  potassium  or  ' '  potash  "?  by  C.  G.  Hopkins 123 

Paper  on  artificial  irrigation  in  humid  and  semiarid  districts,  by  L.  G. 

Carpenter 125 

Paper  on  methods  of  conducting  investigations  relating  to  the  mainte- 
nance or  increase  of  soil  fertility,  by  C.  E.  Thorne 127 

Paper  on  methods  of  conducting  investigations  relating  to  the  mainte- 
nance or  increase  of  soil  fertility,  by  E.  B.  Voorhees 133 

Paper  on  experiments  in  animal  breeding,  by  F.  B.  Mumford 138 

Soil  fertility,  by  H.  W.  Wiley 142 

Paper  on  methods  of  investigation  relating  to  the  breeding  of  animals, 

by  C.  S.  Plumb 146 

Section  on  Horticulture  and  Botany 160 

Paper  on  crop  rotation  in  the  Southern  States  as  influenced  by  plant 

diseases,  by  W.  A.  Orton 160 

Notes  on  cooperative  experiments,  by  F.  L.  Stevens 164 

Paper  on  the  history  of  the  tobacco  wilt  in  Granville  County,  N.  C., 

by  F.  L.  Stevens 166 

Paper  on  botany  in  the  agricultural  college,  by  L.  H.  Pammel 168 

Paper  on  the  foundations  of  agricultural  teaching,  by  H.  Metcalf 170 

Introductory  courses  in  botany 172 

Section  on  Entomology 180 

Paper  on  methods  of  work  and  some  results  in  forest  insect  investiga- 
tions, by  A.  D.  Hopkins 180 

Paper  on  importance  of  laboratory  and  field  work  in  economic  ento- 
mology, by  E.  P.  Felt 182 

Paper  on  record  devices,  by  E.  P.  Felt 183 

Paper  on  the  New  Jersey  ideal  in  the  study  and  report  upon  injurious 

insects,  by  J.  B.  Smith 184 

Paper  on  cooperative  work  in  economic  entomology,  by  C.  W.  Wood- 
worth 186 

Paper  on  the  necessity  for  uniform  methods  of  inspection  and  treat- 
ment of  nursery  stock,  by  A.  F.  Burgess 189 

Section  on  Mechanic  Arts 193 

Section  on  Experiment  Station  work 193 

Index  of  names k 195 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 
Diag.  I.  Proposed  installation  plan  of  collective  college  and  station  exhibit  at 

the  St.  Louis  Exposition 47 

II.  Ten-year  average  yield  and  increase  on  Section  C,  Ohio  Experiment 

Station 129 

III.  Ten-year  average  yield  and  increase  on  the  five  sections,  Ohio  Exper- 
iment Station 130 

7 


OFFICERS  AND  COMMITTEES  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION. 


President. 
W.  O.  Thompson,  of  Ohio. 

Vice-Presidents. 

D.  F.  Houston,  of  Texas;  J.  H.  Worst,  of  North  Dakota; 

J.  C.  Hardy,  of  Mississippi;  H.  J.  Wheeler,  of  Rhode  Island; 

B.  C.  Buffum,  of  Wyoming. 

Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

E.  B.  Voorhees,  of  New  Jersey. 

Bibliographer. 

A.  C.  True,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

Executive  Committee. 

H.  C.  White,  of  Georgia,  Chair.; 
G.  W.  Atherton,  of  Pennsylvania;  W.  H.  Jordan,  of  New  York; 

J.  L.  Snyder,  of  Michigan;  C.  F.  Curtiss,  of  Iowa. 

OFFICERS    OF    SECTIONS. 

College  Work  and  Administration. 

W.  E.  Stone,  of  Indiana,  Chair.;  G.  E.  Fellows,  of  Maine,  Secretary. 

Programme  Committee. 

W.  E.  Stone,  of  Indiana;  H.  W.  Tyler,  of  Massachusetts; 

G.  E.  Fellows,  of  Maine. 

Experiment  Station  Work. 

E.  H.  Jenkins,  of  Connecticut,  Chair.;  M.  A.  Scovell,  of  Kentucky,  Secretary. 

Programme  Committee. 

M.  A.  Scovell,  of  Kentucky,  J.  H.  Shepphrd,  of  North  Dakota; 

B.  \y.  Kilgore,  of  North  Carolina. 

committees. 

Indexing  Agricultural  Literature. 

A.  C.  True,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  Chair.,  W.  M.  Hays,  of  Minnesota; 

T.  F.  Hunt,  of  Ohio;  E.  Davenport,  of  Illinois; 

Josephine  A.  Clark,  Librarian  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

9 


10 

Method*  of  Teaching  Agriculture. 

A.  C.  True,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  Chair.;     H.  T.  French,  of  Idaho; 
T.  F.  Hunt,  of  Ohio;  H.  II.  Wing,  of  New  York; 

J.  F.  Duggar,  of  Alabama. 

Collective  College  and  Station  Exhibit,  St  Louis. 

W.  II.  Jordan,  of  New  York,  Chair.;  T.  F.  Hunt,  of  Ohio; 

H.  J.  Waters,  of  Missouri;  C.  F.  Curtiss,  of  Iowa; 

W.  M.  Hays,  of  Minnesota;  A.  C.  True,  of  Washington,  D.  C. ; 

W.  E.  Stone,  of  Indiana;  J.  K.  Patterson,  of  Kentucky; 

II.  W.  Tyler,  of  Massachusetts. 

Graduate  Stud;/. 

C.  W.  Dabney,  of  Tennessee,  Chair.;  A.  C.  True,  of  Washington,  D.  C; 

J.  E.  Stubbs,  of  Nevada;  R.  H.  Jesse,  of  Missouri; 

M.  H.  Buckham,  of  Vermont;  W.  O.  Thompson,  of  Ohio; 

L.  H.  Bailey,  of  New  York. 

Uniform  Fertilizer  and  Feeding-Stuffs  Laws. 

H.  J.  Wheeler,  of  Rhode  Island,  Chair.;     C.  D.  Woods,  of  Maine; 
H.  P.  Armsby,  of  Pennsylvania;  E.  H.  Jenkins,  of  Connecticut; 

M.  A.  Scovell,  of  Kentucky. 

Military  Lnstruction  in  Land-  Grant  Colleges. 

G.  W.  Atherton,  of  Pennsylvania,  Chair.;      H.  H.  Goodell,  of  Massachusetts; 
Alexis  Cope,  of  Ohio;  C.  W.  Dabney,  of  Tennessee; 

;  R.  H.  Jesse,  of  Missouri; 

H.  C.  White,  of  Georgia. 

Cooperation  between  Stations  and  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

E.  A.  Bryan,  of  Washington,  Chair.;  H.  J.  Waters,  of  Missouri; 

W.  A.  Henry,  of  Wisconsin;  L.  G.  Carpenter,  of  Colorado; 

H.  H.  Goodell,  of  Massachusetts;  B.  T.  Galloway,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

Pure-Food  Legislation. 

W.  A.  Withers,  of  North  Carolina,  Chair.;      W.  Frear,  of  Pennsylvania; 
H.  J.  Patterson,  of  Maryland;  H.  J.  Wheeler,  of  Rhode  Island; 

A.  T.  Neale,  of  Delaware. 

Animal  and  Plant  Breeding. 

W.  M.  Hays,  of  Minnesota,  Chair.;  T.  F.  Hunt,  of  Ohio; 

C.  F.  Curtiss,  of  Iowa;  L.  H.  Bailey,  of  New  York; 

H.  J.  Webber,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

Rural  Engineering. 

W.  E.  Stone,  of  Indiana,  Chair.;  S.  Fortier,  of  Montana; 

A.  R.  Whitson,  of  Wisconsin;  C.  F.  Curtiss,  of  Iowa; 

Elwood  Mead,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

Methods  of  Seed  Testing. 

E.  II.  Jenkins,  of  Connecticut,  Chair.;  V.  W.  Card,  of  Rhode  Island; 

W.  R.  Lazenby,  of  Ohio;  E.  Brown,  of  Washington,  D.  C. ; 

A.  I).  Siiamei,  of  Washington,  I).  C. 


LIST  OF  DELEGATES  AND  VISITORS  IN  ATTENDANCE. 


Alabama:  J.  F.  Duggar,  R.  S.  Mackintosh. 

Arizona:  R.  H.  Forbes. 

Arkansas:  G.  F.  Breckenridge,  H.  S.  Hartzog,  W.  G.  Vincenheller. 

Colorado:  B.  O.  Aylesworth,  L.  G.  Carpenter. 

Connecticut:  H.  O.  Averill,  W.  E.  Britton,  L.  A.  Clinton,  H.  W.  Conn,  R.  O.  Eaton, 

J.  B.  Noble,  E.  H.  Jenkins,  R.  W.  Stimson. 
Delaware:  C.  P.  Close,  J.   A.   Foord,  G.  A.   Harter,   A.  T.   Neale,   C.   L.  Penny, 

W.  Webb. 
Florida:  H.  H.  Hume,  T.  H.  Taliaferro. 
Georgia:  R.  J.  Redding,  H.  C.  White,  C.  L.  Willoughby. 
Hawaii:  J.  G.  Smith. 
Idaho:  H.  T.  French,  Mrs.  H.  T.  French. 
Illinois:  E.  Davenport,  Mrs.   G.  N.  Eastman,  C.  E.  Calm,  C.  G.  Hopkins,  A.  H. 

Jones,  T.  B.  Wagner. 
Indiana:  J.  C.  Arthur,  W.  E.  Stone. 
Iowa:  C.  F.  Curtiss,  H.  E.  Summers,  A.  B.  Storms. 
Kansas:  E.  R.  Nichols,  Mrs.  E.  R.  Nichols. 
Kentucky:  R.  M.  Allen,  F.  P.  Anderson,  J.  K.  Patterson,  Mrs.  J.  K.  Patterson, 

Mrs.  Price,  Miss  Nettie  Rodes,  M.  A.  Scovell,  Mrs.  M.  A.  Scovell. 
Louisiana:  C.  E.  Coates,  jr. 
Maine:  G.  E.  Fellows,  C.  D.  Woods. 
Maryland:  C.  F.  Austin,  S.  S.  Buckley,  C.  F.  Doane,  A.  W.  Harris,  H.  B.  McDonnell, 

J.  H.  Mitchell,  J.  B.  S.  Norton,  H.  J.  Patterson,  R.  W.  Silvester,  T.  B.  Symons. 
Massachusetts:  H.  H.  Goodell,  H.  W.  Tyler,  Mrs.  H.  W.  Tyler. 
Michigan:  R.  D.  Graham,  J.  L.  Snyder. 

Minnesota:  W.  M.  Hays,  W.  M.  Liggett,  C.  Northrop,  F.  L.  Washburn. 
Mississippi:  J.  C.  Hardy,  W.  R.  Perkins. 
Missouri:  W.  Bernays,  F.  B.  Mumford,  F.  S.  White. 
Montana:  V.  K.  Chesnut. 
Nebraska:  E.  B.  Andrews. 
New  Hampshire:  W.  D.  Gibbs,  F.  W.  Morse,  F.  W.  Rane,  Mrs.  F.  W.  Rane,  C.  M. 

Weed. 
New  Jersey:  W.  S.  Myers,  Mrs.  W.  S.  Myers,  J.  D.  Smith,  E.  B.  Voorhees. 
New  Mexico:  L.  Foster. 
New  York:  L.  H.  Bailey,  E.  P.  Felt,  W.  G.  Johnson,  W.  H.  Jordan,  S.  H.  Perky, 

J.  L.  Stone,  B.  von  Herff,  H.  E.  Weed. 
North  Carolina:  C.  W.  Burkett,  Miss  S.  H.  Dinwiddie,  B.  W.  Kilgore,  Mrs.  B.  W. 

Kilgore,  F.  L.  Stevens,  G.  T.  Winston,  W.  A.  Withers. 
North  Dakota:  Miss  A.  T.  Shepperd,  J.  H.  Shepperd,  J.  H.  Worst. 
Ohio:  A.  F.  Burgess,  G.  M.  Lummis,  H.  C.  Price,  D.  L.  Sampson,  W.  O.  Thompson, 

C.  E.  Thorne,  H.  A.  Webber,  D.  D.  White,  C.  G.  Williams. 
Oklahoma:  J.  Fields,  A.  C.  Scott, 
.Oregon:  J.  W.  Bailey. 

11 


12 

Pennsylvania:  H.  P.  Armsby,  G.  W.  Atherton,  N.  B.  Critchfield,  W.  Frear,  H.  A. 
Surface. 

Rhode  Island:  K.  L.  Butterfield,  H.  J.  Wheeler. 

South  Carolina:  P.  H.  Mell,  H.  Metcalf,  Mrs.  H.  Metcalf,  T.  E.  Miller. 

South  Dakota:  J.  Chalmers,  J.  W.  Wilson. 

Tennessee:  C.  W.  Dabney. 

Texas:  D.  F.  Houston,  E.  J.  Kyle. 

Utah:  J.  A.  Widtsoe. 

Vermont:  M.  H.  Buckham,  J.  L.  Hills. 

Virginia:   W.  B.  Alwood,  C.  L.  Goodrich. 

Washing-ton:  E.  A.  Bryan. 

West  Virginia:  B.  H.  Hite,  T.  C.  Johnson,  D.  B.  Purinton,  W.  E.  Rumsey,  J.  H. 
Stewart. 

Wisconsin:  W.  A.  Henry,  F.  W.  Woll. 

Wyoming:  B.  C.  Buffum,  C.  W.  Lewis,  C.  E.  Tait. 

United  States  Department  of  Agriculture:  A.  C.  True,  E.  W.  Allen,  W.  H.  Beal, 
D.  J.  Crosby,  W.  H.  Evans,  J.  L.  Farmer,  J.  Hamilton,  C.  F.  Langworthy,  H.  W. 
Lawson,  E.  Mead,  J.  I.  Schulte,  C.  B.  Smith,  and  E.  Y.  Wilcox,  of  the  Office  of 
Experiment  Stations;  H.  E.  Alvord,  C.  B.  Lane,  G.  M.  Pommel,  E.  G.  Ritzman, 
and  D.  Stuart,  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry;  B.  T.  Galloway,  A.  F.  Woods, 
M.  A.  Carleton,  F.  Y.  Coville,  L.  C.  Corbett,  W.  J.  Spillman,  C.  P.  Ball,  M.  A. 
Crosby,  D.  G.  Fairchild,  A.  S.  Hitchcock,  Miss  N.  G.  Holton,  R.  E.  B.  McKenney, 
J.  B.  Norton,  R.  A.  Oakley,  W.  A.  Orton,  C.  V.  Piper,  C.  S.  Scofield,  W.  W.  Tracy, 
C.  W.  Warburton,  H.  J.  Webber,  C.  F.  Wheeler,  and  W.  K.  Wonders,  of  the 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry;  H.  W.  Wiley  and  F.  P.  Yeitch,  oithe  Bureau  of  Chem- 
istry; M.  Whitney,  F.  H.  King,  T.  H.  Means,  J.  0.  Belz,  F.  K.  Cameron,  G.  H. 
Failyer,  W.  H.  Heileman,  J.  C.  Hogenson,  L.  A.  Hurst,  J.  W.  Nelson,  W.  C.  Pal- 
mer, F.  R.  Pember,  0.  Schreiner,  F.  C.  Schroeder,  and  J.  F.  Warner,  of  the  Bureau 
of  Soils;  A.  D.  Hopkins,  of  the  Division  of  Entomology;  Miss  J.  A.  Clark,  of  the 
Library. 

War  Department:  M.  L.  Ireland,  A.  E.  Johnson. 

Guelph,  Canada:  H.  L.  Hutt,  Ontario  Agricultural  College. 

Concepcion,  Chile:  J.  M.  Castro. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION. 

[As  amended  at  the  seventeenth  annual  convention  of  the  association,  Washington,  D.  C,  Novem- 
ber 17-19,  1903.] 


This  association  shall  be  called  the  Association  of  American  Agricultural  Colleges 
and  Experiment  Stations. 

OBJECT. 

The  object  of  this  association  shall  be  the  consideration  and  discussion  of  all  ques- 
tions pertaining  to  the  successful  progress  and  administration  of  the  colleges  and 
stations  included  in  the  association,  and  to  secure  to  that  end  mutual  cooperation. 

MEMBERSHIP. 

( 1 )  Every  college  established  under  the  act  of  Congress  approved  July  2,  1862,  or 
receiving  the  benefits  of  the  act  of  Congress  approved  August  30,  1890,  and  every 
agricultural  experiment  station  established  under  State  or  Congressional  authority, 
the  Bureau  of  Education  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  and  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  of  the  last-named  Department, 
shall  be  eligible  to  membership  in  this  association. 

(2)  Any  institution  a  member  of  the  association  in  full  standing  may  send  any 
number  of  delegates  to  the  meetings  of  the  association.  The  same  delegate  may 
represent  both  a  college  and  a  station,  but  shall  vote  in  only  one  section  and  shall 
cast  only  one  vote  in  general  sessions.  Other  delegates  may  be  designated  by  any 
institution  to  represent  it  in  specified  divisions  of  the  sections  of  the  association, 
but  such  delegates  shall  vote  only  in  such  divisions,  and  no  institution  shall  be 
allowed  more  than  one  vote  in  any  sectional  meeting. 

(3)  Delegates  from  other  institutions  engaged  in  educational  or  experimental 
work  in  the  interest  of  agriculture  or  mechanic  arts  may,  by  a  majority  vote,  be 
admitted  to  conventions  of  the  association,  with  all  privileges  except  the  right  to 
vote. 

(4)  In  like  manner,  any  person  engaged  or  directly  interested  in  agriculture  or 
mechanic  arts  who  shall  attend  any  convention  of  this  association  may  be  admitted 
to  similar  privileges. 

SECTIONS. 

(1)  The  association  shall  be  divided  into  two  sections:  (a)  A  section  on  college 
work  and  administration,  (b)  a  section  on  experiment  station  work. 

The  section  on  college  work  and  administration  shall  be  composed  of  the  presi- 
dents or  acting  presidents  of  colleges  and  universities  represented  in  the  association, 
or  other  representatives  of  such  institutions  duly  and  specifically  accredited  to  this 
section,  and  no  action  on  public  and  administrative  questions  shall  be  final  without 
the  assent  of  this  section. 

The  section  on  experiment  station  work  shall  be  composed  of  the  directors  or  act- 
ing directors  of  experiment  stations  represented  in  the  .association,  or  of  other 
representatives  of  such  stations  duly  and  specifically  accredited  to  this  section. 

13 


14 

(2)  Members  of  these  two  sections  (and  no  others)  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  both 
in  genera]  sessions  and  in  the  section  to  which  they  respectively  belong. 

The  representative  appointed  by  .the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  shall  be  assigned 
to  the  section  on  college  work  and  administration;  the  representative  of  the  Office  of 
Experiment  Stations  to  the  section  on  experiment  station  work;  and  the  representa- 
tive of  the  IT.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  to  either  section  as  he  may  elect  and  the 
section  by  vote  authorize;  but  such  election  once  made  and  authorized  may  not  be 
changed  during  the  sessions  of  a  given  convention. 

Each  section  may  create  such  divisions  as  it  may  from  time  to  time  find  desirable, 
and  shall  elect  its  own  chairman  and  secretary  for  sectional  meetings,  whose  names 
shall  be  reported  to  the  association  for  record. 

(3)  Each  section  shall  conduct  its  own  proceedings,  and  shall  keep  a  record  of  the 
same,  and  no  action  of  a  section,  by  resolution  or  otherwise,  shall  be  valid  until  the 
same  shall  have  been  ratified  by  the  association  in  general  session  and,  in  the  case 
provided  for  in  the  foregoing  paragraph  (1),  shall  also  have  been  approved  by  the 
section  on  college  work  and  administration. 

MEETINGS. 

(1)  This  association  shall  hold  at  least  one  meeting  in  every  calendar  year,  to  be 
designated  as  the  annual  convention  of  the  association.  Special  meetings  may  be 
held  at  other  times,  upon  the  call  of  the  executive  committee,  for  purposes  to  be  speci- 
fied in  the  call. 

(2)  The  annual  convention  of  the  association  shall  comprise  general  sessions  and 
meetings  of  the  sections  and  provision  shall  be  made  therefor  in  the  programme. 
Unless  otherwise  determined  by  vote,  the  association  will  meet  in  general  session  in 
the  forenoons  and  evenings  of  the  convention  and  the  sections  in  the  afternoons. 

OFFICERS. 

(1)  The  general  officers  of  this  association,  to  be  chosen  annually,  shall  be  a 
president,  five  vice-presidents,  a  bibliographer,  and  a  secretary,  who  shall  also  be 
treasurer;  and  an  executive  committee  of  five  members,  three  of  whom  shall  be 
chosen  by  the  section  on  college  work  and  administration,  and  two  by  the  section  on 
experiment  station  work:  Provided,  lioicever,  That  a  member  chosen  by  either  section 
need  not  be  a  member  of  that  section.  The  executive  committee  shall  choose  its 
own  chairman. 

(2)  Each  section  shall,  by  ballot,  nominate  to  the  association  in  general  session 
for  its  action,  a  chairman  and  a  secretary  for  such  section. 

(3)  The  president,  vice-presidents,  secretary,  and  bibliographer  of  this  associa- 
tion shall  be  elected  by  ballot  upon  nomination  made  upon  the  floor  of  the  conven- 
tion, and  shall  hold  office  from  the  close  of  the  convention  at  which  they  are  elected 
until  their  successors  shall  be  chosen. 

(4)  Any  person  being  an  accredited  delegate  to  an  annual  meeting  of  the  associa- 
tion, or  an  officer  of  an  institution  which  is  a  member  of  the  association  in  full 
standing  at  the  time  of  election,  shall  be  eligible  to  office. 

DUTIES    OF    OFFICERS. 

(1 )  The  officers  of  the  association  shall  perforin  the  duties  which  usually  devolve 
up  >n  their  respective  offices. 

(2)  The  president  shall  deliver  an  address  at  the  annual  convention  before  the 
association  in  general  session. 

(3)  The  executive  committee  shall  determine  the  time  and  place  of  the  annual 
conventions  and  other  meetings  of  the  association,  and  shall,  between  such  conven- 
tions and  meetings,  act  for  the  association  in  all  matters  of  business.     It  shall  issue 


15 

its  call  for  the  annual  conventions  of  the  association  not  less  than  sixty  days  before 
the  date  on  which  they  are  to  be  held  and,  for  special  meetings,  not  less  than  ten 
days  before  such  date.  It  shall  be  charged  with  the  general  arrangements  and  con- 
duct of  all  meetings  called  by  it.  It  shall  designate  the  time  and  place  of  the  conven- 
tion; it  shall  present  a  well-prepared  order  of  business — of  subjects  for  discussion — 
and  shall  provide  and  arrange  for  the  meetings  of  the  several  sections.  The  subjects 
provided  for  consideration  by  each  section  at  any  convention  of  the  association  shall 
concentrate  the  deliberations  of  the  sections  upon  not  more  than  two  lines  of  discus- 
sion, which  lines  as  far  as  possible  shall  be  related.  Xot  more  than  one-third  of  the 
working  time  of  any  annual  convention  of  the  association  shall  be  confined  to  mis- 
cellaneous business. 

FINANCES. 

At  every  annual  convention  the  association,  in  general  session,  shall  provide  for 
obtaining  the  funds  necessary  for  its  legitimate  expenses,  and  may,  by  appropriate 
action,  call  for  contributions  upon  the  several  institutions  eligible  to  membership; 
and  no  institution  shall  be  entitled  to  representation  or  participation  in  the  benefits 
of  the  association  unless  such  institution  shall  have  made  the  designated  contribution 
for  the  year  previous  to  that  in  and  for  which  such  question  of  privilege  shall  arise, 
or  shall  have  said  payment  remitted  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee. 

AMENDMENTS. 

This  constitution  may  by  amended  at  any  regular  convention  of  the  association  by 
a  two-thirda  vote  of  the  delegates  present,  if  the  number  constitute  a  quorum:  Pro- 
ri'h '/.  That  notice  of  any  proposed  amendment,  together  with  the  full  text  thereof 
and  the  name  of  the  mover,  shall  have  been  given  at  the  next  preceding  annual  con- 
vention and  repeated  in  the  call  for  the  convention.  Every  such  proposition  of 
amendment  shall  be  subject  to  modification  or  amendment  in  the  same  manner  as 
other  propositions,  and  the  final  vote  on  the  adoption  or  rejection  shall  be  taken  by 
yeas  and  nays  of  the  institutions  then  and  there  represented. 

Rules  of  Order. 

(1)  The  executive  committee  shall  be  charged  with  the  order  of  business  subject 
to  special  action  of  the  convention,  and  this  committee  may  report  at  any  time. 

(2)  All  business  or  topics  proposed  for  discussion  and  all  resolutions  submitted  for 
consideration  of  the  convention  shall  be  read  and  then  referred,  without  debate,  to 
the  executive  committee,  to  be  assigned  positions  on  tlie  programme. 

(3)  Speakers  invited  to  open  discussion  shall  be  entitled  to  twenty  minutes  each. 

(4)  In  general  discussions  the  ten-minute  rule  shall  be  enforced. 

(5)  No  speaker  shall  be  recognized  a  second  time  on  any  one  subject  while  any 
delegate  who  has  not  spoken  thereon  desires  to  do  so. 

(6)  The  hours  of  meeting  and  adjournment  adopted  with  the  general  programme 
shall  be  closely  observed,  unless  changed  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  delegates 
present. 

(7)  The  presiding  officer  shall  enforce  the  parliamentary  rules  usual  in  such  assem- 
blies and  not  inconsistent  with  the  foregoing. 

(8)  Vacancies  which  may  arise  in  the  membership  of  standing  committees  by 
death,  resignation,  or  separation  from  the  association,  of  members,  shall  be  filled  by 
the  committees,  respectively. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICAN  AGRI- 
CULTURAL COLLEGES  AND  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS. 


MINUTES  OF  THE  GENERAL  SESSION. 

Morning  Session,  Tuesday,  November  17,  1903. 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  at  9  a.  in.  in  the  banquet  hall  of  the  Shorehani 
Hotel,  Washington,  D.  C,  President  J.  K.  Patterson,  of  Kentucky,  in  the  chair. 
Prayer  was  offered  by  M.  H.  Buckham,  of  Vermont. 

H.  H.  Goodell,  of  Massachusetts,  moved  that  a  committee  of  live,  including  the 
president  of  the  association,  be  appointed  to  arrange  for  the  visit  of  the  body  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

The  committee  appointed  in  accordance  with  this  motion  was  as  follows:  H.  H. 
Goodell,  of  Massachusetts;  H.  C.  White,  of  Georgia;  W.  M.  Liggett,  of  Minnesota; 
W.  O.  Thompson,  of  Ohio,  and  J.  K.  Patterson,  of  Kentucky. 

Report  of  the  Executive  Committee. 

The  report  of  the  executive  committee  was  presented  by  H.  C.  White,  of  Georgia, 
chairman,  as  follows: 

Immediately  on  adjournment  of  the  sixteenth  annual  convention  of  the  association, 
in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  October  9,  1902,  your  committee  met  and  organized  by  the  selection 
of  President  H.  C.  White,  of  Georgia,  as  chairman,  and  Director  E.  B.  Yoorhees,  of 
New  Jersey,  as  secretary.  Instructions  were  given  the  chairman  to  edit  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  convention  just  closed  before  publication,  and  to  prepare  and  issue  an 
abstract  of  the  proceedings  in  form  of  the  usual  memorandum.  After  informal  dis- 
cussion of  routine  matters,  adjournment  was  taken  subject  to  the  call  of  the  chair- 
man. The  abstract  memorandum  was  issued  and  posted  to  each  member  of  the 
association,  November  15,  1902.  The  edited  proceedings  were  placed  in  the  hands 
of  Director  True  for  publication  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
November  28,  1902. 

Four  subsequent  meetings  of  the  committee  were  held,  at  each  of  which  a  quorum 
was  present,  viz,  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  January  6,  1903;  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  Jan- 
uary 10,  1903;  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  June  22,  1903,  and  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Novem- 
ber 16,  1903.  Business  was  otherwise  transacted  by  correspondence  or  by  attention, 
on  request,  by  individual  members  of  the  committee.  The  matters  which  have 
received  the  attention  of  the  committee  and  the  results  of  action  thereon  are  as 
follows: 

The  mining  school  bill  was  pending  in  the  Fifty-seventh  Congress  at  the  time  of 
adjournment  of  the  last  convention.  Your  committee  made  strenuous  efforts  through 
personal  endeavor,  by  correspondence,  and  with  the  aid  of  friends  outside  the  organ- 
ization of  this  association  to  secure  consideration  of  the  bill  by  the  House  of 
Representatives.  The  efforts  were  unsuccessful  for  essentially  the  same  reason  that 
made  ineffectual  the  endeavors  of  your  former  executive  committee,  namely,  the 
inability  to  secure  from  the  Committee  on  Rules  of  the  House  a  rule  for  its  consider- 
ation, and  the  Congress  finally  adjourned  sine  die  without  action  on  the  bill.  The 
great  importance  of  this  measure  to  the  interests  of  the  institutions  comprising  this 
association,  the  extent  of  favor  and  support  which  it  met  in  the  last  Congress  (that 
of  a  very  large  majority  of  the  members  of  both  the  House  and  the  Senate),  the  fact 

21736— No.  142—04 2  17 


18 

that  its  passage  was  prevented  purely  by  parliamentary  obstruction,  and  the  belief 
of  your  committee  that  it  would  secure  the  approval  and  support  of  the  present  Con- 
gress lead  the  committee  to  recommend  that  this  convention  consider  the  question 
of  bringing  the  measure  before  the  present  Congress  in  an  appropriate  manner. 

By  resolution  of  the  association,  the  executive  committee  was  "instructed  to  use 
its  best  efforts"  to  secure  action  by  Congress  ensuring  the  annual  and  prompt  printing 
of  a  suitable  edition  of  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  of 
the  r.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  for  distribution  to  the  officers  of  the  colleges 
and  stations.  Your  committee  accordingly  appeared  before  the  Committee  on  Print- 
ing of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  secured  the  promise  of  introduction  and 
support  of  a  proper  resolution  meeting  the  wishes  of  the  association. 

In  pursuance  of  the  assurance  of  the  association,  expressed  by  resolution,  of  its 
desire  to  cooperate  actively  with  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  of  the  United  States  in 
his  plans  for  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of  farmers'  institutes  throughout  the 
country,  your  committee  appeared  before  the  House  Committee  on  Agriculture  and 
urged,  respectfully,  a  specific  appropriation  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  the 
purpose.  The  House  Committee  recommended  an  annual  appropriation  of  $5,000, 
which  was  subsequently  made  by  Congress. 

Your  committee  was  "charged  with  the  duty  of  soliciting  from  Congress  the  sum 
of  $60,000  to  meet  the  expense  of  installing  and  maintaining  an  exhibit  of  the  dis- 
tinctive work  of  the  land-grant  colleges  and  experiment  stations  at  the  Louisiana 
Purchase  Exposition."  Your  committee  discharged  this  duty  by  appearing  before 
appropriate  committees  of  the  House  and  Senate  and  otherwise,  and,  as  a  result 
Congress  appropriated  $100,000  for  the  purpose  indicated.  For  the  generous  response 
made  to  their  solicitations,  the  committee  and  the  association  are  especially  indebted 
to  the  courtesy  and  interest  of  Hon.  J.  A.  Tawney,  chairman,  and  Hon.  C.  L.  Bart- 
lett,  leading  minority  member  of  the  House  Committee  on  Industrial  Arts  and  Expo- 
sitions; to  Hon.  Joseph  G.  Cannon,  then  chairman  of  the  House  Committee  on 
Appropriations,  and  to  Senators  Harris,  Proctor,  and  Cockrell.  After  the  appropri- 
ation was  secured  your  committee  notified  the  association  committee  on  collective 
exhibits  at  St.  Louis,  who  thereupon  assumed  charge  of  the  association's  interests  in 
the  premises.  The  report  of  this  committee  will  be  laid  before  the  convention  in 
due  season  and  the  executive  committee  ask  for  it  the  careful  consideration  of  the 
association. 

Your  committee  was  instructed,  "in  its  discretion,"  to  urge  upon  Congress  an  in- 
crease in  the  appropriations  to  the  several  experiment  stations  by  the  sum  of  $15,000 
annually.  On  consideration,  the  committee  decided  it  would  be  unwise  to  attempt 
to  secure  action  of  this  character  by  the  Fifty-seventh  Congress.  By  way  of  laying 
a  foundation  for  possible  effort  in  the  Fifty-eighth  Congress,  however,  the  commit- 
tee, under  the  dates  given,  addressed  the  following  communications  (which  are  self- 
explanatory)  to  the  officers  named  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture: 

"Athens,  Ga.,  July  17,  1903. 
"Director  A.  C.  True, 

' '  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  Washington,  D.  C. 
"Dear  Sir:  The  Association  of  American  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment 
Stations,  at  the  annual  meeting  held  in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  October,  1902,  instructed  by 
resolution  the  executive  committee  of  the  association  to  secure,  if  practicable,  an 
increase  by  Congress  of  the  annual  appropriations  made  for  the  support  and  main- 
tenance of  the  agricultural  experiment  stations  in  the  several  States  and  Territories. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  executive  committee  held  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  June  22,  1903,  I 
was  instructed  to  communicate  with  you  and  request,  in  behalf  of  the  committee 
and  the  association,  that,  in  your  forthcoming  report  (for  1903)  of  the  Office  of  Ex- 
periment Stations  to  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  you  will  present,  in  as  much 
fullness  of  detail  as  may  seem  to  you  desirable  and  appropriate,  an  account,  founded 
upon  the  inspections  and  examinations  made  through  your  office,  of  the  present 
condition  and  work  of  the  several  stations,  their  capabilities  for  increased  work  of 
value  to  agriculture,  and  of  the  need  (if  it  exists)  of  additional  resources  to  enable 
such  increased  work  to  be  undertaken.  It  is  the  purpose  of  the  committee  to  address  a 
communication,  subsequently,  to  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  asking  his  special 
considerationof  the  report  from  your  office  and  requesting  him,  if  the  statement  of  facts 
made  by  you  should  warrant,  to  recommend,  in  his  annual  report,  an  appropriate 
increase  in  the  appropriations  now  made  by  Congress  to  the  stations.  Asking  your 
kind  consideration  of  this  communication,  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
"  Very  respectfully,  yours, 

"H.  C.  White, 
"Chairman  Executive  Committee. 


19 


'Athens,  Ga.,   October  .'/.   190S. 


"  Hon.   James   Wilson, 

••  x-  ,-,-,  tary  of  AgricuUun  . 

"Deak  Sir:  Ai  the  last  annual  meeting,  the  Association  oi  American  Agricul- 
tural Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations,  after  careful  deliberation,  expr  ased  in 
formal  motion  the  conviction  that  the  time  had  arrived  when  increased  appropriations 
for  the  work  of  the  experiment  stations  mighl  be  made,  with  greal  advantage  to  the 
agricultural  interests  of  the  country,  by  Congress.  The  executive  committee  of  the 
association  was  charged  with  consideration  of  proper  measures  in  the  premises.  We 
arc  aware  that  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  of  your  Departmenl  has,  during  the 
past  year,  made  exhaustive  inquiry  into  the  conditions  ami  needs  of  the  work  of  the 
stations  in  the  United  States.  The  report  of  the  Director  of  the  Office,  soon  to  be 
submitted  to  you,  will,  no  doubt,  contain  the  statement  of  all  necessary  facts  upon 
which  a  judgment  may  be  based  as  to  the  propriety  and  desirability  of  asking  such 
additional  appropriations  at  the  hands  of  the  present  Congress.  As  furthering  such 
purpose]  am  directed  by  the  executive  committee  to  bring,  respectfully,  this  matter- 
to  your  attention,  and  to  beg  that  you  will  give  consideration  to  such  facts  in  this 
connection  as  may  be  presented  in  the  report  of  the  Director,  and,  in  the  event  that 
the  facts  should  seem  to  you  to  justify  such  action,  you  will  be  pleased  to  recommend 
in  your  forthcoming  report  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  additional  financial 
aid  by  the  General  Government  to  the  agricultural  experiment  stations  established 
under  the  act  of  Congress  of  March  2,  1887,  commonly  known  as  the  'Hatch  Act.' 
Your  kind  attention  to  this  request  will  be  greatly  appreciated. 

"In  behalf  of  the  executive  committee,  by 
"  Very  respectfully,  yours, 

"H.  C.  White,   Chairman." 

The  report  of  Director  True,  recently  submitted,  exhibits  a  full  and  courteous 
response  to  the  request  of  the  committee.  Due  reply  has  been  received  from  Secre- 
tary Wilson  and  the  committee  has  in  progress  further  conference  with  him.  This 
matter  is  now  referred  back  to  the  association  for  such  further  action  as  this  conven- 
tion may  consider  advisable. 

Notwithstanding  serious  effort  and  considerable  correspondence,  your  committee 
was  unable  to  secure  the  consent  of  any  institution  represented  in  the  association  to 
undertake  the  conduct,  under  its  auspices,  of  the  Graduate  School  of  Agriculture. 
Under  the  circumstances  the  committee  did  not  think  it  wise  to  attempt  to  arrange 
for  a  graduate  school  during  the  summer  of  1903,  or  to  exercise  the  authority  given  it 
to  assess  upon  the  colleges  and  universities  represented  in  the  association  a  proper 
proportionate  contribution  to  meet  the  expenses  of  a  graduate  school  undertaken  by 
the  association  independently  of  the  initiative  of  some  institution.  The  committee 
are  of  opinion  that  the  interests  of  graduate  work  in  agriculture  are  not  unfavor- 
ably affected  by  failure  to  follow  up,  in  a  succeeding  summer,  the  most  admirable 
work  of  the  graduate  school  at  the  Ohio  State  University  in  1902.  The  time  is,  per- 
haps, not  yet  ripe  for  annual  sessions  of  a  Graduate  School  of  Agriculture.  Biennial 
sessions,  at  most,  would  perhaps  at  present  be  practicable  or  desirable.  Your  com- 
mittee earnestly  urge  the  maintenance  by  the  association  of  the  graduate  school, 
under  some  suitable  arrangements  which  may  be  found  practicable,  and  recommend 
the  creation  by  the  association  of  a  standing  committee  on  graduate  work  in  agricul- 
ture which  shall  be  charged  with  the  special  care  of  this  important  phase  of  educa- 
tional work,  suggesting  that  such  committee  may,  at  this  time,  appropriately  sup- 
plant the  existing  standing  committee  on  "graduate  work  at  Washington." 

On  request  of  the  committee  on  collective  college  and  station  exhibit  at  the  St. 
Louis  Exposition,  your  committee  gave  prompt  and  cordial  consent  to  the  addition 
to  that  committee  of  Hon.  W.  T.  Harris,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education. 

On  application  on  April  8,  1903,  by  Mr.  F.  D.  Coburn,  chief  of  live  stock  section, 
Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition,  for  appointment  of  two  representatives  of  this  asso- 
ciation on  an  advisory  committee  to  said  section,  your  committee,  through  the  chair- 
man, nominated  Prof.  T.  F.  Hunt,  of  the  Ohio  State  University,  and  Director  ( !.  F. 
Curtiss,  of  the  Iowa  Agricultural  College,  as  members  of  the  advisory  committee, 
both  gentlemen  accepting  appointment. 

Prof.  H.  L.  Bolley,  of  North  Dakota,  on  going  abroad  in  the  service  of  the  F.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture,  resigned  his  office  of  chairman  of  the  Section  on  Horticul- 
ture and  Botany.  After  consultation  with  Prof.  H.  H.  Hume,  of  Florida,  secretary 
of  the  section,  who  preferred  not  to  undertake  the  duties  of  chairman,  your  com- 
mittee, through  the  chairman,  requested  Prof.  J.  C.  Arthur,  of  Purdue  University,  to 
serve  as  chairman  for  the  ensuing  session.  On  June  26, 1903,  Professor  Arthur  kindly 
indicated  his  willingness  to  act  as  chairman  of  the  section. 


20 

The  matter  of  participation  in  the  benefits  of  the  Cecil  Rhodes  scholarships  bequest 
by  institutions  represented  in  this  association  having  been  brought  to  the  attention 
of  the  committee  by  members  of  the  association,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  was 
assured  personally  by  the  representative  in  the  United  States  of  the  trustees  of  the 
Rhodes  bequest  that  no  discrimination,  other  than  such  as  might  lie  in  the  specific 
terms  of  the  bequest,  would  obtain  against  the  peculiar  institutions  comprising  this 
association. 

Your  committee  having  knowledge  of  the  arrival  in  the  United  States  in  October, 
1903,  of  a  commission  visiting  this  country  on  request  and  at  the  expense  of  Alfred 
Moseley,  esq.,  of  England,  to  "investigate  the  facilities  offered  and  the  provisions 
made  for  industrial  and  technical  education,"  addressed  a  cordial  invitation  to  the 
commission  to  attend  this  convention  of  representatives  of  the  leading  technical 
schools  in  America,  venturing  the  opinion  that  the  purposes  of  the  commission 
might  be  furthered  by  conference  with  this  body.  The  invitation  was  extended 
through  President  Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  of  Columbia  University,  New  York,  to 
whom  the  commission  was  referred  by  Mr.  Moseley  for  arrangement  of  its  itinerary. 
The  following  communication  was  received  from  President  Butler: 

"Columbia  University,  in  the  City  of  New  York, 

"President's  Room,  October  14,  1903. 
"President  H.  C.  White,  Athens,  Ga. 

"My  Dear  Sir:  I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  yours  of  the  10th  and  to  say 
that  I  am  very  glad  indeed  to  hand  the  Moseley  commission  your  very  urgent  invi- 
tation to  attend  the  seventeenth  annual  convention  of  the  Association  of  American 
Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations,  to  be  held  in  Washington  on 
November  17-20  next.  I  am  not  sure  how  many  members  of  the  commission  will 
be  in  this  country  at  that  time,  but  I  hope  that  some  of  them,  at  least,  will  be  able 
to  accept  your  invitation. 

"Faithfully,  yours,  "Nicholas  Murray  BrrLER." 

Your  committee  are  hopeful  that  some  members  of  the  commission  may  be  present 
during  the  course  of  this  convention,  in  which  event  it  will  no  doubt  be  the  pleas- 
ure of  the  association  to  extend  to  them  due  and  proper  courtesies. 

Your  committee  announce  with  great  and  sincere  regret  the  death  on  August  26, 
1903,  of  Mr.  Victor  H.  Lowe,  of  the  New  York  Experiment  Station,  secretary  of  the 
Section  on  Entomology.  This  sad  event  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  committee 
so  shortly  before  the  convening  of  this  convention  that  no  effort  was  made  to  secure 
a  secretary  for  the  section.  The  duty  of  filling  this  office  is  respectfully  remitted  to 
the  Section  on  Entomology. 

The  call  for  the  meeting  of  this,  the  seventeenth,  convention  of  the  association  was 
issued  by  your  committee  May  30,  1903.  The  programme  of  order  of  business  for 
the  convention  was  issued  November  7,  1903. 

As  the  expenditures  of  the  funds  of  the  association  are  made,  for  the  greater  part, 
upon  the  authorization  and  approval  of  the  executive  committee,  your  committee 
has  pleasure  in  calling  attention  to  the  satisfactory  report  which  the  treasurer  will 
present  to  the  convention.  The  legitimate  expenses  attending  the  conduct  of  the 
proper  and  necessary  work  of  the  association  are  sometimes  unavoidably  heavy. 
During  the  past  year  such  control  has  been  exercised  that  it  has  been  found  pos- 
sible to  meet  a  number  of  previously  outstanding  obligations,  to  pay  all  current 
expenses,  leave  no  unpaid  accounts,  and  finish  the  year  with  a  small  balance  in  the 
treasury. 

Respectfully  submitted  for  the  executive  committee. 

H.  C.  White,  Chairman. 

The  report  was  received  and  placed  on  file. 

Report  of  Treasurer. 

The  report  of  the  treasurer  was  read,  as  follows: 

Report  of  treasurer  of  t lie  association,  October  7,  1902,  to  November  17,  1903. 

Amount  on  hand  October  7,  1902 $78.  40 

Amount  received  from  dues 1,  010.  15 

Total 1,  688.  55 

Expenditures 1, 425. 29 

Balance  in  bank  November  17 263.  26 

Edward  B.  Yooriiees, 

Secretary-  Treasurer. 


21 

The  report  was  referred  to  an  auditing  committee  consisting  of  J.   L  Snyder, 
L.  (l.  Carpenter,  and  ('.  \Y.  Dabney,  who  reported  as  follows: 
The  committee  appointed  to  audit  the  accounts  of  Edward  B.  Voorhees,  treasurer 

Of  this  association,  begs  leave  to  reporl  that  the  hook,  checks,  ami  vouchers  have 
been  carefully  compared  and  seem  to  be  correct. 

Respectfully  submitted.  J.  L  Snyder 

L.  ( i.  (  Sabpbmtbr. 
C.  W.  Dabney. 
The  report  was  accepted. 

Repobt  of  Bibliographer. 

A.  C.  Tine  presented  the  report  of  the  bibliographer,  as  follows: 

The  publications  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  issued  during  the  year  have 
contained  a  number  of  bibliographies  which  are  included  in  the  list  forming  a  part  of 

this  report.  Special  mention,  however,  may  he  made  of  the  list  of  references  to 
publications  relating  to  irrigation  and  land  drainage,  published  as  Library  Bulletin 
No.  41,  and  to  the  publication  of  four  additional  parts  of  the  index-catalogue  of  med- 
ical and  veterinary  zoology. 

Annual  reports  of  progress  in  chemistry,  zoology,  veterinary  medicine,  plant  dis- 
eases, and  other  subjects  have  appeared  as  usual.  Very  useful  indexes  to  the  last 
ten  volumes  of  each  of  the  following  have  been  issued  recently:  Zoologischer  Jahres- 
hericht,  Jahresbericht  iiber  die  Fortschritte  der  Thier-Chemie,  and  Zeitschrift  fur 
analytische  Chemie.  The  following  are  among  the  subjects  of  the  more  important 
special  bibliographies  which  have  appeared  during  the  year:  Cotton,  rusts  of  cereals, 
Mendel's  law,  grafting,  nitrogen  fixation,  soil  bacteria,  pleasure  gardens,  eucalypts, 
silk  culture,  Coccidae,  Hessian  fly,  milk  bacteria,  and  theories  of  immunity. 

The  first  number  of  a  bibliography  of  agriculture  published  in  Italy,  under  the  title 
Bibliographia  Agronomica  Universalis,  has  just  appeared.  This  number  contains 
references  to  445  publications  issued  since  January  1,  1903.  These  publications  are 
for  the  most  part  in  Italian,  the  intention  being  to  include  the  foreign  publications  in 
subsequent  numbers.  The  references  are  arranged  alphabetically  by  authors  under 
11  headings.     The  publication  promises  to  be  a  useful  work  of  reference. 

In  the  report  last  year  special  attention  was  called  to  the  International  Catalogue 
of  Scientific  Literature.  At  that  time  parts  of  the  indexes  for  chemistry  and  botany 
for  1901  had  been  published.  Since  then  our  attention  has  been  called  to  part  2  of 
the  volume  for  chemistry  and  to  the  volumes  for  meteorology,  physiology,  bacteri- 
ology, and  general  biology.  In  some  of  these  volumes  there  is  a  very  evident  omis- 
sion of  references  to  works  of  American  authors.  For  instance,  in  the  volume  for 
bacteriology  no  reference  could  be  found  to  any  of  the  many  contributions  to  the 
literature  of  bacteriology  made  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  experi- 
ment stations  during  the  year.  Less  than  a  dozen  of  the  many  feeding  experiments 
reported  in  1901  are  referred  to  in  the  volume  for  physiology.  In  justice  to  the 
catalogue  it  should  be  noted  that,  in  each  of  the  volumes  referred  to,  it  is  stated  that 
those  portions  of  the  literature  for  1901  not  indexed  will  be  included  in  the  corre- 
sponding volumes  of  the  second  annual  issue.  Notwithstanding  this  clause,  it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  index  is  so  incomplete. 

All  of  the  bibliographies  to  which  reference  has  been  made  are  noted  more  fully  in 
the  list  of  110  titles  which  follows: 

A.iello,  G.,  and  Parascandolo,  C.  Delia  psittaccosi  (Psittacosis).  Archives  de 
Parasitologic,  5  (1902),  No.  2,  pp.  294-395.  The  literature  of  the  subject  is  dis- 
cussed in  connection  with  an  extensive  bibliography. 

Alwood,  W.  B.  A  study  of  cider  making  in  France,  Germany,  and  England,  with 
comments  and  comparisons  on  American  work.  U.  S.  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, Bureau  of  Chemistry  Bulletin  71,  pp.  114.  A  short  bibliography  of  French, 
German,  and  English  works  on  cider  making  is  appended. 

American  Museum  of  Natural  History.  List  of  papers  published  in  the  bulletin 
and  memoirs  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  volumes  1-1 1>, 
1881-1902.  New  York:  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  1902,  pp.  32. 
The  main  part  of  the  list,  containing  about  278  references,  is  classified  as  follows: 
(1)  Geology;  (2)  mammals,  birds,  reptiles,  and  fishes;  (3)  fossil  vertebrates; 
(4)  insects;  (5)  anthropology. 

Anderson,  L.  Some  of  the  influences  affecting  milk  production.  Thesis,  Cornell 
University,  1901,  pp.  97.  An  extended  bibliography  of  the  literature  of  experi- 
mentation touching  upon  the  production  of  milk  is  appended. 


22 

Andbeasch,  R.  Autoren-  and  Bach-Register  zu  den  Banden  XXI-XXX  (An  author 
and  subject  index  to  volumes  21-30),  Jahresberieht  fiber  die  Fortschritte  der 
Thier-Chemie.     Wiesbaden:  J.  F.  Bergmann,  1903,  pp.  460. 

,  and  Spiro,  K.    Jahresberieht  uber  die  Fortschritte  der  Thier-Chemie  (Annual 

report  of  the  progress  in  animal  chemistry).  Jahresberieht  Thier-Chemie,  31 
(1901),  pp.  XXX VTI+ 1054.  This  contains  abstracts  of  the  literature  of  animal 
chemistry  for  1901,  with  subject  and  author  indexes. 

Barbour,  E.  II. ,  and  Fisher,  C.  A.  The  geological  bibliography  of  Nebraska. 
Nebraska  State  Board  of  Agriculture  Report  for  1901,  pp.  248-266.  An  alpha- 
betical list  (by  authors)  of  315  titles  of  articles  on  geography,  physiography, 
stratigraphy,  resources,  water  supply,  etc..  compiled  from  every  available  source. 

Bateson,  W.  Mendel's  principles  of  heredity.  A  defense.  Cambridge  University 
Press,  1902,  pp.  212.     A  bibliogiaphy  of  36  papers  on  hybridization  is  appended. 

Bissox,  E.  Elenco  di  pubblicazioni  attinenti  alia  bachicoltura,  che  vennero  fuori  nel 
corso  del  1901  e  1902  (Bibliography  of  publications  relating  to  sericulture  which 
appeared  during  the  years  1901-2).  Annuario  della  R.  Stazione  Bacologica 
di  Padova,  30  (1901),  pp.  97-120.  An  extended  bibliography  arranged  alpha- 
betically according  to  authors. 

Blaxkixship,  J.  W.  The  loco  and  some  other  poisonous  plants  in  Montana.  Mon- 
tana Station  Bulletin  45,  pp.  75-104.  A  list  of  55  American  works  relating  to 
poisonous  plants,  exclusive  of  the  fungi. 

Bock,  J.  Jahresberieht  uber  die  Untersuchungen  und  Fortschritte  auf  dem 
Gesammtgebiete  der  Zuckerfabrikation  (Annual  report  on  investigations  and 
progress  in  the  manufacture  of  sugar).  Brunswick:  Friedrich  Vieweg  &  Son, 
1903,  pp.  XII+374.  A  review  for  the  year  1901  of  investigations  on  the  culture 
and  handling  of  sugar  beets  and  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar. 

Bodlaxoer,  G.,  et  al.  Jahresberieht  uber  die  Fortschritte  der  Chemie  und  ver- 
wandter  Theile  anderer  Wissenschaften,  1897  (Annual  report  of  the  progress  in 
chemistry  and  related  parts  of  other  sciences  for  1897).  Brunswick:  Friedrich 
Vieweg  &  Son,  1901-2,  pp.  3344.  This  volume  contains  abstracts  of  literature 
of  chemistry  and  related  subjects,  with  classified  table  of  contents  and  author 
and  subject  indexes.  The  first  part  of  the  volume  for  1898,  as  well  as  volumes  for 
some  of  the  earlier  years,  have  just  been  published. 

Boulger,  G.  S.  Wood.  London:  Edward  Arnold,  1902,  pp.  369.  A  bibliography 
of  the  more  important  literature  is  appended. 

Brittox,  W.  E.  The  white  fly  or  planthouse  aleurodes.  Connecticut  State  Station 
Bulletin  140,  pp.  14—17.     A  list  of  18  references  is  appended. 

Bruxhes,  J.  L'Irrigation  dans  la  Peninsule  Ib'rique  et  dans  TAfrique  du  Nord 
(Irrigation  in  Spain  and  North  Africa).  Thesis,  University  of  Paris,  1902,  pp. 
XVII-^518.  There  is  added  a  bibliography  of  a  large  number  of  publications 
on  irrigation  used  or  cited  in  the  preparation  of  this  treatise. 

Castle,  W.  E.  Mendel's  law  of  heredity.  Science,  n.  ser.,  18  (1903),  No.  456,  pp. 
396-406.     A  list  of  14  references  is  appended  to  the  article. 

Chester,  F.  D.  Bacteria  of  the  soil  in  their  relation  to  agriculture.  Pennsylvania 
Department  of  Agriculture  Bulletin  98,  pp.  88.  A  bibliography  of  105  titles  is 
appended. 

Crosbv,  D.  J.  School  gardens,  their  development  and  functions.  Outlook,  71  (1902), 
No.  14,  pp.  852-861.     A  bibliography  of  the  literature  of  the  subject  is  appended. 

Dammer,  O.  Die  Fortschritte  der  anorganischen  Chemie  in  den  Jahren  1892-1902 
(Progress  in  inorganic  chemistry  during  the  years  1892-1902).  Handbuch  der 
anorganischen  Chemie.  Stuttgart:  Ferdinand  Enke,  1903,  vol.  4,  pp.  XXI V-+- 
1023.     Abstracts  of  the  literature  of  inorganic  chemistry. 

Daniel,  L.  La  variation  specifique  dans  la  greffe  ou  hybridation  asexuelle  (Specific 
variation  in  the  graft  or  asexual  hybridization).  Troisieme  Congres  International 
de  Defense  contre  la  Grele  et  de  1' Hybridation  de-la  Vigne.  Lyons:  Societe 
Regionale  de  Viticulture,  1902,  II,  pp.  262-365.  A  bibliography  of  the  works  of 
67  authors  on  various  phases  of  grafting  is  appended. 

Dietrich,  F.,  et  al.  Bibliographie  der  deutschen  Zeitschriften-litteratur  (Bibliog- 
raphy  of  German  periodical  literature).  Leipzig:  Felix  Dietrich,  1902,  Vols.  IX, 
pp.  374;  X,  pp.  373;  1903,  Vol.  XI,  pp.  404.  This  is  a  subject  and  author  index 
of  original  articles,  mainly  of  a  scientific  character,  published  in  German  period- 
icals, pamphlets,  and  newspapers.  Volume  9  includes  the  articles  in  over  1,400 
publications  appearing  from  July  to  December,  1901;  volume  10,  the  articles  in 
over  1,500  publications  appearing  from  January  to  June,  1902;  and  volume  11, 
the  articles  in  about  2,000  publications  appearing  from  July  to  December,  1902. 
A  list  of  the  publications  is  given  in  each  volume. 


23 

Eisenbebg,  P.  ( "  I  >«  r  .lit-  Bindungs\  crhalt  oise <•  zwischeu  Toxin  and  Antitoxin  The 
relationship  between  toxin  and  antitoxin).  ( lentralblatl  im-  Bakteriologie,  rara- 
aitenkunde,  and  Infektionskrankheiten,  l.  Abt,  34  (1903  .  No.  '■>.  Orig.,  pp. 
259-283.     A  critical  review  of  the  literature  of  this  subject,  with  referen 

,  and  Keller,  E.     uber  die  Speufisital  der  Serodiagnostik  der  Tuberkulose 

(The  specific   nature  of   Berum  diagnosis  of  tuberculosis).     Centralblatt   fur 
Bakteriologie,  Parasitenkunde,  und  Infektionskrankheiten,  1.  Abt.,  33    1903  . 
N<».  7,  Orig.,  pp.  549-567.     The  literature  of  Berum  <  1  i ; i ur 1 1 < •  - i -  in  the  in 
tion  of  tuberculosis  is  critically  discussed  in  connection  with  a  bibliography  of  88 
titles. 

Ellenbergbb  et  ai..  Jahresberichl  uber  die  Leistungen  auf  dem  Gebiete  der  Vrete- 
rinar-Medicin,  1901  (Annual  report  on  investigations  in  the  field  <>i"  veterinary 
medicine,  H»oi  }.  Berlin:  August  Hirschwald,  1902,  pp.  312.  A  classified  bibli- 
ography of  books,  pamphlets,  and  periodical  articles  <»n  the  subject  in  all  its 
branches. 

.    Jahresbericht  uber  die  Leistungen  aufdem  Grebieteder  Veterinar-Medicin, 

L902  Annual  report  on  investigations  in  the  tiel<l  of  veterinary  medicine,  1902). 
Berlin:  August  rlirschwald,  1903,  pp.  277. 

Ki. us,  Maby.  Index  to  publications  ol  the  New  York  state  Natural  History  Survev 
and  New  York  state  Museum,  1837-1902;  also  including  other  New  York  publi- 
cations on  related  subjects  New  York  State  Museum  Bulletin  »><>,  pp.  653. 
This  includes  a  lint  of  publications,  with  author  and  subject  indexes,  and  an 
index  to  descriptions  of  genera  and  species  of  fossils  compiled  under  the  direc- 
tion of  J.  M.  Clarke. 

Eriksson,  J.  Sur  l'origine  et  la  propagation  de  la  rouille  des  cereales  par  la  Bemenoe 
(The  origin  and  propagation  of  cereal  rusts  through  the  seed).  Annales  des 
Sciences  Naturelles  Botanique,  8.  ser.,  15  (1902),  pp.  1-160.  A  bibliography  of 
literature  relating  to  rusts  is  appended. 

Felt,  E.  P.  Crude  petroleum  as  an  insecticide.  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Pro- 
motion of  Agricultural  Science,  1902,  pp.  86-95.  A  brief  bibliography  of  the 
subject  is  appended  to  the  article. 

.     Hessian  fly.     Bulletin  New  York  State  Museum,  10  (1901),  Xo.  53,  pp.  725- 

730.     An  extended  bibliography  of  the  literature  on  this  insect. 

Ferxald,  Maria  E.  A  catalogue  of  the  Cootida?  of  the  world.  Massachusetts 
Station  Bulletin  88,  pp.  360.  Full  bibliographic  references  are  given  to  the 
species  recognized  in  this  bulletin,  which  number  about  1,500. 

Ferxow,  B.  E.  Economics  of  forestry.  New  York:  Thos.  Y.  Crowell  A  Co.,  1902, 
pp.  XII— 520.  This  book  deals  with  the  role  of  forests  and  forest  products  in 
public  affairs  and  is  a  contribution  to  the  literature  of  both  political  economy 
and  forestry.     A  bibliography  is  included  in  the  appendix. 

Forbes.  S.  A.  The  corn  bill-bugs  in  Illinois.  Illinois  Station  Bulletin  79,  pp.  435- 
461.     A  bibliography  of  recent  literature,  including  abstracts,  is  appended. 

Fresexius,  H.,  and  Czapski,  A.  Autoren-und  Sach-Register  zudenBanden  XXXI- 
XL,  1892-1901  ( Author  and  subject  index  to  volumes  31-40, 1892-1901),  Zeitschrift 
fur  analytische  Chemie.     Wiesbaden:  C.  W.  Kreidel,  1903,  pp.  268. 

Froggatt,  W.  W.  Australian  ladybird  beetles.  The  Agricultural  Gazette  of  New 
South  Wales,  13  (1902),  Xo.  9,  pp.  895-911.  A  brief  bibliography  of  works  relat- 
ing to  Australian  Coccidse  is  appended  to  the  article. 

.     Cicadas  and  their  habits.     The  Agricultural  Gazette  of  Xew  South  Wales, 

14  ( 1903),  Xo.  5,  pp.  418-425.  A  bibliography  of  the  subject  is  appended  to  the 
article. 

Glikix.  W.  Untersuchungen  zur  Methode  der  Fettbestimmung  in  thierischem  Mate- 
rial i  Studies  of  methods  of  estimating  fat  in  animal  substances  .  Archiv  fur  die 
Gesammte  Physiologic  des  Menschen  und  der  Thiere,  95  I  1903  .  No.  ;;-4.  pp. 
107-145.     A  bibliography  of  29  titles  is  appended. 

Goldberg,  A.  Uber  die  Fortschritte  auf  dem  Gebiete  der  Chemie  des  Wassers, 
sowie  der  naturlichen  und  kunstliehen  Mineralwasser  (Progress  in  the  held  of 
the  chemistry  of  waters,  including  natural  and  artificial  mineral  waters).  Che- 
miker  Zeitung,  26  (1902),  Xo.  78,  pp.  912-918.  A  review  of  investigations  on 
this  subject  containing  numerous  references  to  articles  which  appeared  during 
the  years  1899-1901. 

■ .     Uber  die  Fortschritte  auf  dem  Gebiete  der  Chemie  des  Wassers,  BOwie  der 

naturlichen  und  kunstliehen  Mineralwasser  (  Progress  in  the  field  of  the  chemis- 
try of  waters,  including  natural  and  artificial  mineral  waters).  Chemiker  Zei- 
tung, 27  (1903) ,  Xo.  71,  pp.  869-874.  A  review  of  the  literature  published  during 
1902  on  this  subject,  with  a  list  of  164  references. 


24 

Hall,  A.  D.     The  soil :  An  introduction  to  the  scientific  study  of  the  growth  of  crops. 

London:  J.  Murray,  1903,  pp.  XV+286.     A  classified  bibliography  of  some  of 

the  more  important  works  on  soils. 
Harrison,  F.  C.     Lait  et  fromage  amers  (Bitter  milk  and  cheese).     Revue  Generale 
'     du  Lait,  1  (1902),  No.  21,  pp.  498,  499;  Centralblatt  fur  Bakteriologie,  Parasiten- 

kunde,  und  Infektionskrankheiten,  2.  Abt.,  9  (1902),  No.  67,  pp.  225,  226.     A 

list  of  31  references  to  the  literature  of  this  subject. 
.     The  identity  of  human  and  avian  diphtheria.     Ontario  Agricultural  College 

and  Experimental  Farm  Report  1902,  pp.  98-104.     A  discussion  of  the  litera- 
ture of  this  subject,  with  a  bibliography  of  48  titles. 
.     The  bacterial  contamination  of  milk.     Revue  Generale  du  Lait,  2  (1903), 

No.  23,  pp.  545,  546.     A  list  of  68  titles  is  given. 
-,  and  Gumming,  M.     The  bacterial  flora  of  freshly  drawn  milk.     Journal  of 


Applied  Microscopy  and  Laboratory  Methods,  6  (1903),  No.  2,  p.  2181.     A  list  of 

25  titles  is  given. 

Haselhoff,  E.,  and  Lindau,  G.  Die  Beschiidigung  der  Vegetation  durch  Rauch 
(The  injurious  effect  of  smoke  on  plant  growth).  Leipzig:  Borntraeger  Bros., 
1903,  pp.  VIII+ 412.  A  bibliography  of  the  more  important  references  to  the 
literature  of  this  subject  is  appended. 

Hedrick,  Ellex  A.  List  of  references  to  publications  relating  to  irrigation  and  land 
drainage.  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Library  Bulletin  41,  pp.  181.  The 
list  includes  references  to  irrigation  and  land  drainage  principally,  but  it  has 
been  deemed  advisable  to  include  also  references  to  a  few  allied  subjects,  such 
as  hydraulics  and  some  departments  of  engineering. 

Hemexway,  H.  D.  How  to  make  school  gardens.  New  York:  Doubleday,  Page  & 
Co.,  1903,  pp.  XVI 4-107.  A  brief  bibliography  of  school-garden  literature  is 
appended. 

Hentschel,  E.,  and  Schoebel,  E.  Autoren-Register  zu  den  zoologischen  Jahresbe- 
richten  fi'ir  1891-1900  (Author  index  to  the  zoological  yearbooks  for  1891-1900). 
Berlin:  R.  Friedlander  &  Son,  1903,  pp.  226. 

Hilger,  A.,  Dietrich,  T.,  et  al.  Jahresbericht  iiber  die  Fortschritte  auf  dem 
Gesammtgebiete  der  Agrikultur-Chemie  (Annual  review  of  the  progress  in  agri- 
cultural chemistry).  Jahresbericht  Agrikultur-Chemie,  3.  ser.,  4  (1901),  pp. 
XXXVIII-f-613.  This  contains  abstracts  of  the  more  important  articles  in 
agricultural  chemistry  published  in  1901  and  titles  of  articles  of  less  importance. 

Hixds,  W.  E.  Contribution  to  a  monograph  of  the  insects  of  the  order  Thysanoptera 
inhabiting  North  America.     Proceedings  of  the  United  States  National  Museum, 

26  (1903),  pp.  79-242.     A  list  is  given  of  480  works  relating  to  the  biology,  life 
history,  and  means  of  combating  insects  of  this  order. 

Hollrung,  M.  Jahresbericht  iiber  die  iSeuerungenund  Leistungen  auf  dem  Gebiete 
der  Pflanzenkrankheiten  (Annual  review  of  the  literature  relating  to  plant  dis- 
eases, 1901).  Berlin,  1903,  pp.  VIII+305.  A  review  of  the  literature  of  plant 
protection  during  1901,  with  abstracts  of  the  more  important  articles. 

Hunziker,  O.  F.  A  review  of  existing  methods  for  cultivating  anaerobic  bacteria. 
Reprint  from  Journal  of  Applied  Microscopy  and  Laboratorv  Methods,  vol.  5, 
Nos.  3,  pp.  1694-1697;  4,  pp.  1741-1758;  5,  pp.  1800-1814;"  6,  pp.  1854-1856. 
An  extensive  bibliography  is  appended  to  an  elaborate  discussion  of  the'litera- 
ture  of  this  subject. 

International  Catalogue  of  Scientific  Literature.  D — Chemistry,  II;  F — 
Meteorology;  Q — Physiology,  I  and  II;  R — Bacteriology;  L — General  Biology. 
International  Catalogue  of  Scientific  Literature,  first  annual  issue,  2  (1903),  pt. 
2,  pp.  685;  6  (1902),  pp.  197;  3  (1902),  pt.  1,  pp.  417;  3  (1903),  pt.  2,  pp.  676;  8 
(1902),  pp.  328;  16  (1903),  pp.  157.  These  volumes  consist  of  author  and  subject 
indexes  to  the  literature  of  the  subjects  mentioned.  The  indexes  begin  with  the 
literature  of  1901  and  are  more  or  less  complete  for  that  year.  It  is  stated  in 
each  volume  that  references  omitted  will  be  included  in  the  second  annual  issue. 
A  list  of  journals  as  prepared  by  the  regional  bureaus  engaged  in  the  preparation 
of  the  catalogue  has  also  been  issued. 

John  Crerar  Library,  The.  A  list  of  bibliographies  of  special  subjects.  Chicago: 
The  John  Crerar  Library,  1902,  pp.  504.  This  is  a  classified  list  of  subject  bibli- 
ographies in  the  John  Crerar  Library,  Chicago. 

Klee,  R.  Bibliotheca  veterinaria.  Leipzig:  Hermann  Seemann  Nachfolger,  1901, 
pp.  247.  A  list  of  veterinary  works  in  book  form  or  in  periodicals  published  in 
( Jermany,  arranged  alphabetically  according  to  authors.  A  subject  index  is  also 
given. 

Kobek,  G.  M.  Milk  in  relation  to  public  health.  U.  S.  Senate,  57th  Congress,  1st 
session,  Document  441,  pp.  V  235.  A  list  of  164  references  to  the  literature 
of  this  subject  is  given  on  pages  179-1 83. 


25 

Kommission   DbuTBCHEB   N  a  ii  i:r  \<  .>\i  m  ti-:i.-( 'ii  km  i  k  i-:i:.      \'c*r«-i  nl  laruiiiri-n   EOT  <iiih<-it- 

licheo  Untersuchung  and  Beurtheilung  von  Nahrungp-  and  ( renuss-Mitteln  bo*  ie 
(  tebrauchsgogenstanden  fur  daa  Deutsche  Reich  |  Uniform  met  I  km  Is  for  the  exam- 
ination and  valuation  of  foods,  condiments,  and  commercial  products  in  the 
German  Empire).  Berlin:  J.  Springer,  Nos.  I.  1897,  pp.  XIII  LOG;  2,  1899, 
pp.  XII  |  1S4;  :;,  1902,  pp.  X     184.     an  extended  bibliography  is  appended  to 

each  <>t'  the  principal  sect  ions. 

jU'W'kknky,  E.  .1.  Literature  with  reference  to  the  inicctivitv  of  the  milk  of  tuber- 
culous cows.  Journal  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Technical  Instruction  for 
Ireland,  2  I  L902),  No.  -I,  pp.  673  ♦  i T ~> .      A  list  of  34  articles. 

McClatciiik,  A.  J.  Bibliography  of  the  ^cnus  Eucalyptus.  U.S.  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Forestry  Bulletin  .">•">,  |>]>.  90-101.  A  list  of  the  principal 
papers  and  hooks  upon  the  genus  Eucalyptus. 

MacGeeald,  W.  (Editor).  Practical  farming  and  gardening.  Chicago  and  New 
York:  Hand,  MeXally  &  Co.,  1902,  pp.  500.  Appended  to  the  different  chapters 
are  lists  of  publications  on  (1)  tillage  and  genera]  agriculture;  (2)  field  and 
forage  crops,  seed  selection,  and  the  eradication  of  weeds;  (3)  specific  crops, 
truck  farming,  and  the  marketing  of  produce;  (4)  Eruit'culture  and  forestry;  (5) 
injurious  insects  and  plant  diseases;  (6)  animal  husbandry,  bee  keeping,  and  fish 
culture;  (7)  diseases  of  farm  animals;  (8)  the  construction  and  management  of 
silos;  (9)  poultry  and  pigeons. 

Mayer,  P.  Zoologischer  Jahresbericht  fur  1901  (Zoological  yearbook  for  1901). 
Berlin:  R.  Friedlander  &  Son,  1902,  pp.  VIII+499.  Detailed  bibliographic  Lists 
relating  to  the  various  groups  of  animals.  The  more  important  publications 
under  each  group  are  briefly  abstracted. 

.     Zoologischer  Jahresbericht  fur  1902  (Zoological  yearbook  for  1902).     Berlin: 

R.  Friediilnder  &  Son,  1903,  pp.  VIII+584.  This  report  contains  brief  abstracts 
of  the  work  done  during  the  year  in  various  lines  of  zoology  in  connection  with 
classified  bibliographical  lists. 

Mohler,  J.  R.  Infectiveness  of  milk  of  cows  which  have  reacted  to  the  tuberculin  test. 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  Bulletin  44,  pp. 
90-93.     This  includes  59  references  to  the  literature  of  this  subject. 

,  and  Buckley,  J.  S.     Reportonan  enzootic  among  cattle  caused  by  a  bacillus 

of  the  enteritidis  group.  V.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Animal 
Industry  Report  1902,  pp.  297-331.  A  list  of  17  references  to  the  literature  of 
this  subject  is  appended  to  the  article. 

and  Washburn,  H.  J.     Takosis,  a  contagious  disease  of  goats.     U.  S.  Depart- 


ment of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  Report  1902,  pp.  354-390.  A 
list  of  14  references  to  the  literature  of  this  subject  is  given. 

Muir,  R.,  and  Ritchie,  J.  Manual  of  bacteriology.  New  York:  The  Macmillan 
Co.,  1903,  American  edition,  pp.  XX-f  565.  A  selected  bibliography  of  the  lit- 
erature relating  to  bacteriology  is  appended. 

Muller,  ML  Uberdas  Wachstum  und  die  Lebenstatigkeit  von  Bakterien,  sowieden 
Ablauf  fermentativer  Prozesse  bei  niederer  Temperatur  unter  spezieller  Beri'ick- 
sichtigung  des  Fleisches  als  Nahrungsmittel  (The  growth  and  activity  of  bac- 
teria, and  the  fermentative  processes  which  take  place  at  low  temperature,  with 
special  reference  to  flesh  foods).  Archiv  fur  Hygiene,  47  (1903),  No.  2,  pp. 
127-193.  A  list  of  47  references  to  the  literature  of  the  subject  is  appended  to 
the  article. 

Mullie,  G.  Recherches  comparatives  sur  les  differents  moyens  de  distinguer  le  lait 
cru  du  lait  bouilli  (Comparative  tests  of  different  methods  of  distinguishing 
raw  and  heated  milk).  Revue  Generate  du  Lait,  2  (1902),  No.  9,  pp.  205-209. 
An  extended  bibliography  of  methods  for  the  detection  of  heated  milk. 

Neger,  F.  W.,  and  Vanino,  L.  Der  Paraguay-Tee  (Yerba  Mate)  (Paraguay  tea — 
Yerba  mate).  Stuttgart:  Fr.  Grub,  1903,  pp.  56.  A  bibliography  of  the  subject, 
including  papers  written  by  29  different  authors,  is  included. 

Neumann,  R.  O.  Experimentelle  Beitnige  zur  Lehrevon  dein  taglichen  Nahrungsbe- 
darf  des  Menschen  unter  besonderer  Beriicksichtigung  dernotwendigen  Biweiss- 
menge  (Experimental  contributions  to  the  problem  of  the  daily  food  require- 
ment of  man  with  especial  reference  to  the  necessary  amount  of  protein). 
Archiv  hir  Hygiene,  45  (1902),  No.  1,  pp.  1-87.  A  list  of  L36  references  is 
appended  to  this  article. 

Nichols,  Rose  S.  English  pleasure  gardens.  New  York:  The  Macmillan  Co..  1902, 
pp.  XXIV-p-324.  A  bibliography  of  the  works  of  170  authors  treating  of  the  vari- 
ous kinds  of  ancient  and  modern  gardens  18  appended. 

Oppel,  A.  Die  Baumwolle  (Cotton).  Leipzig:  Duncker  &  Hum  blot,  1902,  pp.  745, 
An  extensive  bibliography  of  this  subject  is  given. 


26 

Osbobne,  T.  P>.,  and  Harris,  I.  F.  Review  of  literature  of  nucleic  acid.  Connecti- 
cut State  Station  Report  1901,  pt  4,  pp.  367-388.  An  extended  review  of  the 
literature  on  this  subject,  with  bibliographic  references. 

Ottavi,  E.,  Mabescalchi,  A.,  et  al.  Bibuographia  agronomics universalis.  Casale: 
Ottavi  Bros.,  1903,  No.  1,  pp.  56.  This  is  a  list  of  445  publications  relating  to 
agriculture  which  have  appeared  since  January  1,  1903.  The  publications  are 
for  the  most  part  in  Italian,  the  intention  being  to  include  the  foreign  publica- 
tions in  the  second  number  soon  to  appear.  The  references  are  arranged  alpha- 
betically by  authors  under  the  following  headings:  General  agriculture;  soils, 
agricultural  machinery,  crops  and  their  utilization;  pests  and  diseases  of  culti- 
vated plants;  special  crops;  forestry;  horticulture;  zootechny;  animal  products; 
beneficial  insects;  hunting,  fishing,  pisciculture;  and  miscellaneous. 

Parsons,  A.  L.  Greensand  marl.  Mineral  resources  of  the  United  States.  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  1901,  pp.  811-822.  An  incom- 
plete bibliography  relating  to  the  occurrence  and  classification  of  greensand  for- 
mation and  its  production  and  use  is  appended. 

Patent  Office,  Great  Britain.  Subject  list  of  works  on  domestic  economy, 
foods,  and  beverages',  including  the  culture  of  cacao,  coffee,  barley,  hops,  sugar, 
tea,  and  the  grape,  in  the  library  of  the  Patent  Office.  Patent  Office  Library 
Series  Xo.  9.  London:  Darling  &  Son,  Ltd.,  1902,  pp.  136.  The  list  comprises 
1.270  works  representing  some  2,043  volumes. 

Perez,  C.  Contribution  a  Petude  des  metamorphoses  (A  study  of  insect  metamor- 
phosis). Bulletin  Scientifique  de  la  France  et  de  la  Belgique,  37  (1903),  pp. 
417-425.  A  list  of  publications  relating  to  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the 
development  of  insects. 

Phillips,  W.  F.  K.  Eecent  papers  bearing  on  meteorology.  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Weather  Bureau,  Monthly  Weather  Review,  30  (1902),  pp.  355, 
443,  485,  518,  569;  31  (1903),  pp.  8,  71,  137,  172,  280. 

.     Text-books  and  works  of  reference  for  students  of  elementarv  meteorologv. 

Monthly  Weather  Review,  30  (1902),  No.  8,  pp.  408-410.     A  list  of  83  text-books 
and  works  of  reference. 

Preble,  E.  A.  A  biological  investigation  of  the  Hudson  Bay  region.  I".  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  Division  of  Biological  Survey,  North  American  Fauna  Xo. 
22,  pp.  140.  An  extensive  bibliography  of  literature  relating  to  the  biology  of 
this  region  is  given  on  pages  27-38. 

Rhees,  W.  J.  List  of  publications  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  1846-1903.  Smith- 
sonian Miscellaneous  Collections  No.  1376,  pp.  99. 

Ritchie,  J.  Bibliographv  on  immunity.  Journal  of  Hvgiene  [Cambridge],  2 
(1902) ,  No.  4,  pp.  462-464.  A  list  of  106  titles  of  literature  relating  to  theories 
of  immunity. 

Rothschild,  H.  De.  Le  lait  (Milk).  Paris:  Octave  Doin,  1903,  pp.  90.  A  brief 
bibliography  relating  especially  to  the  bacteriology  of  milk. 

Salmon,  D.  E.  Bovine  tuberculosis  and  other  animal  diseases  affecting  the  public 
health.  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  Report 
1902,  pp.  332-353.  A  list  of  31  references  to  the  literature  of  this  subject  is 
appended  to  the  article. 

Schneider,  A.  Titles  of  literature  concerning  the  fixation  of  free  nitrogen  by  plants. 
Minnesota  Botanical  Studies,  3.  ser.,  1903,  pt,  2,  pp.  133-139.  This  includes  73 
titles. 

Schweitzer,  G.  Milchhygienische  Studien  (Studies on  milk  hygiene).  Centralblatt 
t'urBakteriologie,  Parasitenkunde,  und  Infektionskrankheiten,  2.  Abt.,  10  (1903), 
Xos.  16-17,  pp.  501-514;  18-19,  pp.  563-570.  A  list  of  23  references  relating  to 
this  subject  is  appended. 

Scuddeb,  S.  II.  Alphabetical  index  to  North  American  Orthoptera  described  in  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries.  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  Occa- 
sional Papers,  VI,  1901,  pp.  436.  A  compilation  of  references  to  the  Orthoptera 
of  North  America  and  the  West  Indies  from  the  time  of  Linnaeus  to  the  close  of 
the  last  century. 

Si: i. by,  A.  D.  A  rosette  disease  of  potatoes.  Ohio  Station  Bulletin  139,  pp.  53-66. 
A  list  of  20  references  to  diseases  of  the  potato  attributed  to  Rhizoctoma. 

Sharp,  D.  (Editor).  The  Zoological  Record.  London:  Zoological  Society,  1902,  pp. 
1144.     A  classified  list  of  titles  on  zoological  subjects  for  the  year  1901. 

SlEVEKlNG,  (4.  II.,  et  al.  Die  .Milch  und  ihre  Bedeutung  fiir  Volkswirtschaft  und 
Volksgesundheil  (Milk  and  its  industrial  and  hygienic  importance).  Hamburg: 
C.  Boysen,  1903,  pp.  522.  This  book  consists  of  19  articles  relating  to  the  pro- 
duction and  sale  of  pure  milk,  the  articles  being  accompanied  by  extended 
bibliographies. 


•27 

Smolensky,  i\  Traits  d' hygiene  (Treatise  on  hygiene).  Paris:  G.  Steinheil,  1904, 
!>}).  X  X  X  1 1  7">l\  Appended  to  this  volume,  which  i-  designed  as  a  laboratory 
manual  f<>r  the  examination  of  foods  ami  which  is  particularly  valuable  as  a 
summary  of  Russian  investigations,  is  an  extended  bibliography. 

Stiles,  ('.  VV.  The  significance  «>i  tin-  recent  American  cases 01  hookworm  disease 
(uncinariasis,  or  ankylostomiasis)  in  man.  I".  B.  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  Report  1901,  pp.  183  219.  A  list  of  articles  cited  in 
this  paper  in  connection  with  American  cases  of  this  disease  is  appended. 

,  and  Hassall,  A.     [ndex-catalogue  of  medical  and  veterinary  zoology.     LT.8. 

Department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  Bulletin 39,  parts 2,  pp. 
17  ins;  ;;.  pp.  I'm  324;  1.  pp.325  !<»•".;  5,  pp.  405  135.  Theeeparts  of  the  bulle- 
tin include  authors  whose  names  begin  with  the  letters  B  to  E,  inclusive. 

Swing]  b,  I ».  B.  Formation  of  the  spores  in  the  sporangia  of  Rhizopus  nigricans  and 
of  Phycomyces  niiens.  U.S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  I'lant  Industry 
Bulletin  37.  pp.  -40.    Twenty-six  references. 

Szekbly,  A.  von.  Die  Frage der  Edentitat  der  menschlichen  und  Rindertuberkulose 
( The  question  of  the  identity  of  human  and  bovine  tuberculosis).  ( lentralblatt 
furBakteriologie,  Parasitenkunde,  und Infektionskrankheiten,  I.  Abt,32|  L902  . 
Nn.v  (>.  Referate.  pp.  167-173;  7.  pp.  b>3-2(  >3;  s,  pp.  225-237.  A  review  of  recent 
literature  on  this  subject  with  numerous  bibliographic  references. 

Terbe,  L.  Essai  sur  la  tuberculose  des  verte'bre's  u  Bang  froid  (Tuberculosis  in  cold- 
blooded vertebrates).  Dijon:  Barbier-Marilier,  1902,  pp.  128.  A  critical  review 
of  the  literature  relating  to  tuberculosis  in  cold-blooded  vertebrates,  together 
with  a  bibliography  of  168  titles. 

The  [London]  Chemical  Society.  A  catalogue  of  the  library  of  the<  Ihemical  Society. 
arranged  according  to  authors,  with  a  subject  index.  London:  The  Chemical 
Societv.  1903,  pp.  324. 

Tinsley,  J.  D.  Alkali.  New  Mexico  Station  Bulletin  42,  pp.  27-31.  A  list  of  »;i  arti- 
cles on  alkali  and  alkali  soils. 

T.iaden,  A.,  Koske,  F..  and  Hebtel,  M.  Zur  Franc  der  Erhitzuhg  der  Milch,  mit 
besonderer  Beriieksichtigung  der  Molkereien  (Concerning  the  heating  of  milk. 
with  especial  reference  to  dairies).  Arbeiten  aus  dem  kaiserlichen  ( resundheits- 
amte,  18  (1901),  No.  2,  pp.  219-354.  A  list  of  74  articles  relating  to  the  pasteur- 
ization of  milk. 

Tutt,  J.  W.  A  natural  bistory  of  the  British  Lepidoptera,  III.  London:  Swan  Son- 
nenschein  &  Co.,  1902,  pp.  XII-f558.  This  volume  contains  numerous  biblio- 
graphical notes  relating  to  the  families  considered. 

Vandevelde,  A.  J.  J.  Die  kieming  der  zaadplanten,  morphologic  en  physiologie 
(The  morphology  and  physiology  of  the  germination  of  Spermatophytes). 
Ghent:  J.  Vuylsteke,  1900,"pt.  2,  pp.  137-301.  A  bibliography  of  literature 
relating  to  this  subject  is  given  in  connection  with  an  extended  discussion. 

.     Repertorium  van  de  geschriften  over  de  voedingsmiddelen  gedurende  het  iaar 

1900  verschenen  (Review  of  the  literature  of  foods  for  the  year  1900).  Ghent: 
A.  Siffer,  1901,  pp.  140.  A  list  of  520  publications  on  foods  and  food  products, 
with  notes  concerning  each. 

Repertorium  van  de  geschriften  over  de  voedingsmiddelen  gedurende  bet  jaar 


1901  verschenen  (Review  of  the  literature  of  foods  for  the  year  1901).  Ghent: 
A.  Siffer,  1902,  pp.  165.  A  list  of  686  publications  on  foods  and  food  products, 
with  notes  concerning  each. 

Warman.  P.  C.  Catalogue  and  index  of  the  publications  of  the  United  States  Geo- 
logical Survey.  1901  to  1903.  United  States  Geological  Survey  Bulletin  215,  pp. 
234.  This  is  supplementary  to  Bulletin  177,  published  in  1901.  The  two  bulletins 
include  all  the  publications  of  the  Geological  Survev  from  its  organization  in  L879 
to  June,  1903. 

Watt,  A.  The  art  of  paper  making.  London:  Crosby  Lockwood  A:  Son.  L901,  p.  246. 
A  list  of  16  works  relating  to  paper  manufacture. 

Weed,  C.  M.  A  partial  bibliography  of  the  economic  relations  of  North  American 
birds.  New  Hampshire  Station  Technical  Bulletin  5,  pp.  137-1 79.  A  chrono- 
logical list  of  290  of  the  more  important  works  on  economic  ornithology  from 
1888  to  1901,  inclusive. 

Wei. don.  W.  F.  R.  Mendel's  laws  of  alternative  inheritance  in  peas.  Biometrika, 
1  (1902),  No.  2,  pp.  22S-254.  A  bibliography  of  32  papers  relating  to  Mendel's 
law  and  the  data  upon  which  it  is  based. 

"VVestermann,  T.  (Jddrae  af  hemmed  litterateur  vedrgrende  landbrugets  jorddyrk- 
ning  og  plantekultur  for  aar  L900  (A  review  of  the  foreign  literature  relating  to 
agriculture,  soil  management,  an.i  plant  culture  for  the  year  1900).  Tidsskriff 
for  Landbrugets  Planteavl,  S  (1902),  Supplement,  pp.  1  17.  A  classified  list  of 
references,  witli  a  discussion  of  the  more  important  articles  and  an  author  index. 


28 

W  i  ldeman,  E.  de.  Les  plantes  tropicales  de  grande  culture  (Tropical  plants  of  com- 
mercial importance).  Brussels:  Alfred  Castaigne,  1902,  pp.  IV+304.  This  work 
includes  a  bibliography  of  the  literature  relating  to  the  distribution  of  coffee, 
cacao,  vanilla,  cola,  and  rubber-producing  plants  of  central  Africa. 

Wn.DEK.MAXN,  M.  Jahrbuch  der  Naturwissenschaften,  1901-1902  (Yearbook  of  the 
natural  sciences,  1901-1902).  Jahrbuch  der  Naturwissenschaften,  17  (1901-1902), 
pp.  533.  This  contains  brief  abstracts  of  the  more  important  articles  published 
during  the  year  on  different  lines  of  science. 

Williams,  O.  A  bibliography  of  forestry.  Forestry  Quarterly,  1  (1903),  No.  4,  pp. 
163-172.  A  list  of  articles  relating  to  forestry  published  in  Congressional 
documents. 

Zimmermann,  A.  Die  Parasiten  der  Schattenbaume  und  Windbrecher  (Parasites  of 
shade  trees  and  windbreaks).  Centralblatt  fi'ir  Bakteriologic.  Parasitenkunde, 
und  Infektionskrankheiten,  2.  Abt.,  8  (1902),  Nos.  24,  pp.  774-776;  25,  pp. 
798-805.     Bibliography  of  animal  and  plant  parasites  of  trees  in  the  Tropics. 

The  report  was  received  and  placed  on  file. 

Farmers'  Institutes. 

A.  C.  True.  Since  this  was  a  matter  in  which  the  association  at  its  last  session 
showed  so  much  interest,  it  seemed  desirable  to  put  before  the  association  a  report 
of  the  progress  made  in  organizing  this  work. 

As  you  have  been  already  informed  by  the  chairman  of  the  executive  committee, 
Congress,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  with  the  very 
efficient  aid  of  the  executive  committee  of  this  association,  was  induced  to  include  in 
the  bill  making  appropriations  for  the  Department  a  clause  which  distinctly  recog- 
nized this  work  as  a  part  of  the  business  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and,  by 
the  assignment  of  the  Secretary,  the  general  charge  of  the  work  has  been  committed 
to  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  and  we  have  begun  active  operations. 

The  first  question  which  we  had  to  determine  was  the  general  policy  according  to 
which  this  work  should  be  carried  on.  It  was  easily  and  naturally  decided  that, 
since  the  management  of  the  farmers'  institutes  had  been  inaugurated  and  carried 
on  entirely  by  the  States,  it  was  in  no  way  the  function  of  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture under  existing  legislation  to  attempt  the  management  of  these  institutes,  but 
that  it  was  its  business  rather  to  recognize  clearly  in  all  its  work  the  State  manage- 
ment of  the  institutes  and  to  cooperate  with  the  State  officers  and  aid  them  in  every 
possible  way  to  build  up  the  institutes  in  the  several  States.  And  thus  we  have 
come  into  definite  relations  with  the  State  managers  of  the  institutes  in  all  the 
States  where  the  institutes  are  now  held.  It  will  be  our  policy  to  confer  constantly 
with  them  and  to  try  in  our  work  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  several  States  as  well  as 
to  act  as  a  general  agency  for  coordinating  and  strengthening  this  work  throughout 
the  country. 

After  an  investigation  of  the  general  situation,  with  a  view  to  deciding  upon  the 
special  line  of  work  w.e  should  follow,  in  view  of  the  limited  funds  at  our  disposal, 
we  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  most  important  thing  was  to  increase,  so  far  as 
we  could,  the  efficiency  of  the  institute  lecturers. 

There  is  now  in  the  United  States  a  body  of  men  numbering  somewhat  over  800 
who  lecture  in  these  institutes.  Less  than  half  of  this  number  are  men  engaged 
in  the  work  of  the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations.  There  is,  there- 
fore, a  considerable  body  of  men  outside  of  the  colleges  and  stations  who  espe- 
cially need  advice  and  assistance  with  reference  to  the  progress  of  agricultural 
movements,  especially  along  educational  and  scientific  lines.  So  we  have  begun  to 
get  into  intimate  relations  through  the  State  organizations  with  these  institute 
lecturers.  We  desire  to  help  them  in  every  way  possible,  and  our  chief  effort  now 
is  to  devise  ways  and  means  for  giving  them  the  most  efficient  assistance. 

We  are  doing  this  work  with  different  objects  in  view.  Primarily,  of  course,  we 
desire  to  build  up  the  institutes  and  make  them  most  efficient;  but  we  also  desire, 


29 

through  «>ur  close  contact  with  the  institute  lecturer.-,  to  help  i"  bring  them  into 
closer  relations  to  the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations,  and  in  this  way 
ultimately  to  build  up  a  force  of  men  throughout  the  country  who  will  be  able  to 
carry  the  great  burden  of  the  institute  work. 
Under  present  conditions,  as  you  know,  the  officers  of  the  agricultural  colleges  and 

experiment  stations  are  not  only  greatly  interested  in  the  farmers'  institute-,   but  are 

carrying  a  heavy  burden  of  work  in  connection  with  them;  and  in  a  good  many 

individual  instances  this  burden  is  already  so  heavy  that  we  have  felt  that  it  has 
interfered  to  a  certain  extent  with  their  work  as  teachers  and  invest igators  in  con- 
nection with  the  colleges  and  stations. 

Now,  it  is  obvious  that  under  present  conditions  the  college  and  station  officers  must 
to  a  considerable  extent  take  the  leadership  in  this  institute  movement,  and  they 
must  make  some  sacrifices  in  order  to  help  on  this  great  movement  for  the  education 
of  the  masses  of  our  fanners.  At  the  same  time W6 ought  to  look  forward  to  the  day 
when  we  shall  have  a  thoroughly  equipped  body  of  institute  lecturers,  who,  while 
they  are  in  close  touch  with  the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations,  will  be 
able  to  relieve  the  teachers  in  the  colleges  and  the  investigators  in  the  stations  from 
any  considerable  burden  of  institute  work. 

There  is  no  change  in  the  general  policy  of  the  Department  with  regard  to  this 
matter.  We  still  hold  that  it  is  the  primary  and  chief  business  of  the  station  officers 
to  investigate  and  of  the  college  officers  to  teach  in  the  colleges,  and  that  they  should 
help  the  institutes  only  so  far  as  may  he  necessary  under  present  conditions  to  get 
this  movement  on  a  right  basis  and  to  keep  them  in  touch  with  the  actual  problems 
with  which  our  farmers  have  to  deal. 

Under  the  legislation  regarding  farmers'  institutes  as  related  to  the  Department, 
one  of  our  speeial  duties  is  to  aid  in  the  dissemination  of  the  results  of  the  work  of 
the  Department  and  the  stations  among  the  farmers;  and  to  this  we  are  giving  special 
attention.  On  the  part  of  the  Department  the  effort  will  he  made  to  bring  the  officers 
of  the  Department  in  its  different  hranches  in  closer  touch  with  the  institutes  by 
having  those  offieers  go  out  more  than  they  have  been  accustomed  to  do  in  the  past 
to  speak  at  the  institutes  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 

Of  course  it  would  not  be  possible,  if  it  were  desirable,  for  the  Department  officers 
to  speak  at  the  institutes  generally,  but  it  is  our  hope  that  in  the  "round-up  "  insti- 
tutes, as  they  are  called,  and  in  other  meetings  where  representative  men  are  gathered 
together  from  a  considerable  region,  the  Department  may  be  represented  hereafter 
more  frequently  than  it  has  been  in  the  past. 

To  take  immediate  charge  of  this  work  in  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  Prof. 
John  Hamilton,  formerly  in  charge  of  the  department  of  agriculture  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  has  been  appointed  and  has  already  entered  on  the  service.  It  is 
his  desire,  as  well  as  our  own,  that  the  college  and  station  men  here  and  generally 
in  the  States  represented  here  should  give  him  such  suggestions  regarding  this  work 
and  such  aid  as  they  can.  He  would  like  to  come  in  touch  with  them  personally 
and  through  correspondence  as  much  as  possible.  So  I  hope  that  during  this  con- 
vention and  at  other  times  you  will  get  acquainted  with  him  and  come  to  understand 
the  work  he  is  trying  to  do  in  this  line. 

I  do  not  want  to  close  this  imperfect  statement  regarding  our  efforts  in  this  direc- 
tion without  trying  to  impress  on  you  more  fully  the  greatness  and  importance  of 
this  farmers'  institute  enterprise.  I  have  not  realized  it  myself  until  recently. 
The  work  undoubtedly  has  grown  in  importance  and  in  strength  quite  rapidly  in 
very  recent  years.  When  we  consider  that  these  institutes  are  practically  held 
annually  in  every  county  of  the  United  States  and  that  they  are  attended  in  the 
aggregate  by  something  like  a  million  people  who  are  engaged  in  the  farming  busi- 
ness, I  think  we  can  see  that  here  is  a  force  which,  if  it  can  be  properly  organ- 
ized, will  be  of  tremendous  significance  in  the  future  development  of  the  agriculture 


30 

of  this  country,  in  the  building  up  of  a  proper  system  of  agricultural  education  and 
research,  and  in  bringing  up  a  generation  of  farmers  who  will  understand  and  appre- 
ciate what  the  colleges  and  the  experiment  stations  and  other  educational  agencies 
are  doing  in  behalf  of  agriculture. 

And  s<>,  as  far  as  the  general  interests  of  the  institutions  composing  this  association 
are  concerned,  it  seems  to  me  there  is  no  subject  which  can  more  deserve  their 
interest  and  sympathy;  and  I  think  that,  if  the  managers  of  our  colleges  and  experi- 
ment stations,  as  well  as  the  officers  who  are  engaged  in  the  work,  will  look  into 
this  matter  they  will  be  convinced,  as  those  of  us  have  been  convinced  who  have 
had  occasion  to  look  into  it,  that  here  is  a  force  with  which  they  ought  to  deal 
actively  and  out  of  which,  properly  organized,  may  grow  great  good  to  these  institu- 
tions and  to  our  country. 

Appropriations  for  Mining  Schools  axd  Experiment  Statioxs. 

E.  B.  Andrews,  of  Nebraska,  submit  ted  the  following  resolution,  which  was  referred 
to  the  executive  committee: 

Resolved,  That  the  executive  committee  of  the  association  be  instructed  to  continue 
the  effort  to  secure  favorable  action  by  Congress  on  the  mining-school  bill  and  for 
increasing  the  annual  appropriation  for  the  experiment  stations. 

The  resolution  was  subsequently  favorably  reported  to  the  association  by  the  execu- 
tive- committee  and  agreed  to. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Indexing  Agricultural  Literature. 

A.  C.  True  read  the  report  of  the  committee  on  indexing  agricultural  literature,  as 
follows : 

During  the  past  year  considerable  progress  has  been  made  by  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  in  the  indexing  of  the  literature  of  agriculture  and  agricultural  science. 
The  library  of  the  Department  has  regularly  issued  printed  index  cards  for  the  Depart- 
ment publications.  An  extra  number  of  sets  of  the  index  for  the  last  Yearbook  and 
for  the  later  numbers  of  the  Farmers'  Bulletins  have  been  printed  to  meet  the  demand 
for  small  libraries  which  have  use  for  these  publications.  The  library  has  received 
an  increase  of  appropriation  which  will  enable  it  to  extend  its  indexing,  and  arrange- 
ments have  been  made  to  prepare  a  card  index  of  agricultural  periodicals  which  shall 
be  uniform  with  the  cards  already  distributed.  Indexes  for  the  ' '  Land wirthschaftliche 
Jahrbiicher"  and  "Annales  de  la  science  agronomique"  are  ready  for  publication. 
The  periodicals  relating  to  general  agricultural  which  are  most  frequently  consulted, 
complete  sets  of  which  are  in  the  Department  library,  will  be  indexed  first.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  distribution  of  cards  to  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations,  pro- 
vision will  be  made  for  their  sale  to  institutions  and  individuals  who  may  wish  to 
procure  them. 

The  Department  library  has  also  made  arrangements  which  will  make  it  possible 
for  other  libraries  to  obtain  from  the  Library  of  Congress  catalogue  cards  for  publica- 
tions on  agriculture.  During  the  past  six  months  of  the  fiscal  year  the  copy  for  cur- 
rent accessions  to  the  library  has  been  transmitted  to  the  printing  division  of  the 
Library  of  Congress  for  printing  upon  cards.  Extra  copies  of  these  cards  are  available 
at  a  small  cost  on  application  to  the  Librarian  of  Congress.  These  cards  may  be 
ordered  by  simply  sending  the  serial  number  found  in  the  bulletin  of  "Accessions  to 
the  Department  Library,"  and  catalogue  cards  containing  full  descriptions  of  the 
books  can  thus  be  secured  by  agricultural  college  and  station  libraries  at  less  cost  than 
they  could  be  prepared  by  each  library.  Special  attention  is  called  to  the  availability 
of  this  particular  bibliographical  matter  relating  to  agriculture. 

The  card  catalogue  of  the  Department  library  now  contains  about  110,000  cards, 
derived  from  the  following  sources:  (1)  Cards  for  the  current  accessions;  (2) 
index  cards  for  the  publications  of  the  Department;  (3)  cards  for  articles  published 
in  certain  scientific  periodicals  and  issued  by  the  publishing  branch  of  the  American 
Library* Association;  (4)  cards  for  certain  books  in  the  Library  of  Congress  which 
are  of  occasional  interest  to  workers  in  the  Department,  and  from  their  accessibility 
in  the  Library  of  Congress  are  not  purchased  by  this  library;  and  (5)  cards  for  cur- 
rent botanical  literature  prepared  by  the  New  York  Botanical  Garden. 

The  library  is  thus  in  a  position  to  render  more  efficient  aid  than  ever  before  to 


31 

the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations  by  furnishing  them  information 

regarding  agricultural  and  related  literatim-,   loaning  I ks  to  the  officers  of  these 

institutionu  with  certain  restriction.-,  and  assisting  in  maintaining  the  agricultural 
libraries  of  these  institutions  on  a  more  efficient  basis. 

The  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  bas  now  in  press  a  general  index  to  the  first 
12  volumes  of  the  Experiment  station  Record  and  Experiment  station  Bulletin  No.  2 
It  thus  begins  with  the  work  of  the  experiment  stations  under  the  Hatch  Art  ami 
covers  the  period  down  to  the  close  of  1900.  This  index  contains  about  125,000  entries, 
and  is  undoubtedly  the  most  extensive  index  to  the  literature  of  agricultural  experi- 
mentation which  has  ever  been  prepared. 

The  Card  Index  of  Experiment  station  Literature  issued  by  this  Office  has  now 
reached  No.  24600,  and  is  quite  closely  ap-to-date. 

There  is  still  need  that  this  association  should  continue  active  efforts  along  this 
line.  Many  of  the  institutions  represented  in  the  association  should  give  greater 
attention  to  the  better  organization  of  their  library  work.  The  indexes  on  card-  and 
in  books  already  available  should  be  bo  cared  for  and  kept  as  to  make  them  more 
thoroughly  useful  to  the  students  and  faculties.  Continued  efforts  will  also  be  neces- 
sary to  secure  from  Congress  additional  funds  as  they  may  be  needed  to  increase  and 
keep  up-to-date  the  indexing  of  agricultural  literature  on  the  plans  now  being  worked 
out  bv  the  Department  library. 

A.   C.   Tun:. 
T.  F.   Hint, 
w.  |f.  Hays, 
E.  Davenport, 
Josephine  A.  Clark, 

(  'mil mi//,'  . 
The  report  was  accepted,  and   on   motion   of  E.  B.  Andrews,   of    Nebraska,  the 
Director  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  was  requested  to  furnish  this  report  in 
printed  form  to  the  librarians  of  the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations  at 
as  early  a  date  as  possible. 

Report   of   the  Committee   on    Uniform    Fertilizer  and    Feeding -Stuffs    Laws. 

H.  J.  Wheeler,  of  Rhode  Island,  submitted  the  following  report  of  the  committee 
on  uniform  fertilizer  and  feeding-stuffs  laws: 

In  the  course  of  the  past  year  your  committee,  as  heretofore,  lias  been  in  corre- 
spondence with  parties  in  the  several  States  who  were  interested   in  the  passage  of 

new  fertilizer  laws  or  in  the  amendment  of  existing  ones. 

Arizona,  Idaho,  New  Mexico.  Nevada.  Montana.  Wyoming,  and  Utah  have  not 
yet  felt  the  necessity  of  legislation  in  this  line.  En  Colorado  and  Arkansas  recent 
attempts  to  pass  such  laws  have  been  failures.  The  following  reports  have  been 
received  from  some  of  the  other  States: 

Ex-Director  II.  A.  Huston,  of  Indiana,  reports  that  the  existence  of  the  recommen- 
dations of  this  association  was  of  much  assistance  in  connection  with  the  step-  taken 
to  amend  the  old  fertilizer  law  in  that  State.  The  law  as  enacted  was  made  to 
correspond  to  the  recommendations  in  certain  particulars:  and  the  other  points  were 
practically  all  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  executive  officers,  thus  rendering  it  possible 
to  make  rules  in  accordance  with  the  recommendations. 

Prof.  E.  F.  Ladd,  of  North  Dakota,  reports  that  at  the  last  session  of  the  legislature 
in  that  State  a  fertilizer  law  was  enacted  and  that  the  bill  was  drawn  in  accordance 
with  the  recommendations  of  this  association,  which,  he  says,  were  very  helpful  in 
the  preparation  of  the  bill  and  in  securing  the  necessary  legislation  thereon. 

R.  E.  Rose,  State  chemist,  Tallahassee,  Fla.,  writes  that  the  law  in  that  State  has 
recently  been  amended  to  conform  in  so  Ear  as  possible  with  the  recommendations 
concerning  uniformity.     He  adds  that  the  recommendations  were  of  material  service. 

Prof.  F.  B.  Mnmford,  of  Missouri,  reports  that  the  law  in  that  State  has  been 
amended  recently,  and  that  the  recommendations  were  <<i  much  assistance. 

President  J.  M.  McBryde,  of  Virginia,  reported,  .Inly  4.  L903,  that  changes  in  the 
law  in  that  State  were  then  being  considered,  and  that  amendments  in  the  line  of  the 
recommendations  were  being  urged.  In  conclusion,  he  says,  it  "follows,  therefore, 
that  your  recommendations  will  be  helpful  in  securing  the  legislation  needed." 

Director  H.  P.  Armsby  report.-  that  the  recently  amended  law  of  Pennsylvania  con- 
forms very  largely  in  substance  to  the  recommendations. 

Director  A.  M.  Soule,  of  Tennessee,  states  that  a  new  law  was  passed  in  that  State 
in  April,  1903.     The  law  was  drawn  with  the  object  of  making  it  conform  with  the 


32 

recommendations  of  the  association,  but  a  few  amendments  were  made  not  in  har- 
mony therewith,  which,  it  is  believed,  weaken  the  law.  He  adds  that  it  is  hoped  later 
to  secure  such  amendments  as  will  make  the  law  conform  to  the  original  draft,  and 
that  "had  it  not  been  for  the  existence  of  the  recommendations,  it  would  probably 
not  have  been  possible  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  present  law." 

Director  J.  F.  Duggar,  of  Alabama,  writes,  under  date  of  July  7,  that  in  that  State 
"  the  old  law  has  been  revised  this  year  by  a  new  one  which  embodies  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  Association  of  American  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment 
Stations  and  of  the  Association  of  Official  Agricultural  Chemists,"  and  that  "the 
recommendations  alluded  to  have  had  much  weight  in  securing  the  revision  of  legis- 
lation along  this  line. 

After  careful  consideration  of  the  subject,  your  committee  submits  the  following 
recommendations  regarding  laws  regulating  the  sale  of  feeding  stuffs: 

(1 )  That  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  expenses  of  feeding-stuff  inspection,  the 
State  should  make  a  direct  appropriation,  or,  where  this  is  impracticable,  a  brand  tax 
should  be  levied.  In  view  of  the  experience  of  Maine  and  Vermont,  a  tonnage  tax 
is  not  to  be  recommended. 

(2)  That  the  following  materials  should  be  exempt  from  the  provisions  of  feeding- 
stuff  laws:  Hays  and  straws  and  whole  unmixed  seeds,  such  as  wheat,  rye,  barley, 
oats,  Indian  corn,  buckwheat,  broom  corn,  and  the  unmixed  meals  of  the  entire 
grains  of  such  seed. 

(3)  The  term  concentrated  feeding  stuff s  should  include  linseed  meals,  cotton-seed 
meals,  cotton-seed  feeds,  pea  meals,  cocoanut  meals,  gluten  meals,  gluten  seeds,  maize 
feeds,  starch  feeds,  sugar  feeds,  dried  brewers'  grains,  dried  distillers'  grains,  malt 
sprouts,  hominy  feeds,  cerealine  feeds,  germ  feeds,  rice  meals,  oat  feeds,  corn-and-oat 
chops,  corn-and-oat  feeds,  corn  bran,  ground  beef  or  fish  scraps,  condimental  foods, 
poultry  foods,  stock  foods,  patented  proprietary  or  trade  and  market  stock  and  poultry 
foods,  and  all  other  materials  of  a  similar  nature  not  included  in  section  2  above. 
Where  practicable,  the  by-products  from  the  milling  of  wheat,  rye,  and  buckwheat 
should  be  included  under  the  requirements  of  the  laws. 

(4)  That  a  legible  printed  statement  should  be  affixed  to  or  printed  on  each  pack- 
age containing  a  feeding  stuff  named  in  section  3,  giving  the  net  wreightof  the  package, 
the  name  and  address  of  the  manufacturer  or  importer,  the  name,  brand,  or  trade- 
mark under  which  the  article  is  sold,  and  the  guaranteed  analysis  showing  the  per- 
centage of  crude  protein  and  of  crude  fat.  The  law  should  provide  that  the  chemical 
analysis,  including  determinations  of  crude  protein  and  crude  fat,  shall  be  made  by 
the  official  methods  of  the  Associatian  of  Official  Agricultural  Chemists. 

If  the  feeding  stuff  is  sold  in  bulk  or  put  up  in  packages  belonging  to  the  purchaser, 
the  agent  or  dealer  shall  furnish  him  with  a  certified  statement  of  the  net  weight  of 
the  lot,  the  name  and  address  of  the  manufacturer  or  importer,  the  brand  or  trade- 
mark under  which  said  article  was  sold,  and  the  percentage  of  crude  protein  and 
crude  fat  which  said  article  is  guaranteed  to  contain,  as  determined  by  the  official 
methods  of  the  Association  of  Official  Agricultural  Chemists. 

(5)  That  a  certified  copy  of  the  statement  in  section  4  above  be  filed  with  the 
executive  officer  each  year. 

(6)  That  the  law  should  contain  a  penalty,  by  fines  only,  for  violations  of  its  pro- 
visions and  for  adulterations  of  any  feeding  stuff;  provided,  however,  that  "mix- 
tures" of  adulterated  goods  may  be  sold  if  the  true  names  of  the  constituents  and  the 
chemical  composition  are  plainly  marked  or  printed  on  each  package. 

The  committee  recommends  to  the  Association  of  American  Agricultural  Colleges 
and  Experiment  Stations  the  adoption  of  the  recommendations  1  to  6  inclusive,  with 
the  suggestion  that  this  or  some  other  committee  should  be  instructed  to  use  its 
efforts  to  secure  the  end  in  view  by  using  its  influence  to  aid  in  securing  uniform 
legislation  in  the  several  States. 

Respectfully  submitted.  H.  J.  Wheeler, 

C.  D.  Woods, 
E.  H.  Jenkins, 
H.  P.  Armsby, 
M.  A.  Scovell, 

Committee. 

The  report  was  accepted  and  its  recommendations  were  referred  to  the  executive 
committee,  which  later  recommended  that  the  report  be  referred  back  for  presenta- 
tion to  the  Section  on  Agriculture  and  Chemistry,  and  it  was  so  ordered.  (For 
further  action  on  this  report  see  p.  84.) 

The  convention  then,  on  motion,  took  a  recess  until  8  o'clock  p.  m. 


33 

Evening  Session,  Tuesday,  Novembeb  IT.  L903. 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  at  8  o'clock  p.  m'.,  \\  .  E.  Stone,  of  Indiana,  in 

the  chair. 

V  \<  \  \<  ii  b  on  Standing  (  <>\i  mm  bbs. 

The  recomniendation  of  the  executive  committee  thai  "the  vacancies  which  may 
arise  in  the  membership  of  standing  committees  by  death,  resignation,  or  separation 
from  the  association,  of  members,  shall  be  filled  by  the  committees,  respectively," 
was  agreed  to,  and  thus  becomes  a  standing  order. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Graduate  Sti  d^    a  t  Washington. 

0.  Northrop,  of  Minnesota  (chairman),  read  the  report,  as  follows: 

Owing  to  the  com  lit  ions  growing  out  of  the  refusal  of  the  regents  of  the  Smithson- 
ian Institution  to  accept  the  propositions  made  by  this  association  regarding  the 
organization  of  a  bureau  of  graduate  study,  and  the  events  which   resulted   in  the 

endowment  and  organization  of  the  Carnegie  Institution,  it  has  uot  seemed  best  for 
this  committee  to  take  any  active  measures  during  the  past  year.  It  now  appears, 
however,  that  the  Carnegie  Institution  will  for  some  time  to  come  devote  itself 
mainly  to  the  endowment  of  researches  on  a  comparatively  large  scale,  which  are  to 
be  carried  on  in  different  countries  and  in  connection  with  a  great  variety  of  institu- 
tions. It  does  not  seem  to  he  the  intention  of  the  Carnegie  Institution  to  make  any 
special  provision  for  students  to  pursue  graduate  studies  at  Washington  in  connec- 
tion with  the  different  branches  of  the  National  ( rovernment. 

The  way  is  therefore  open  fortius  association  to  continue  its  effort  to  provide  some 
agency  which  will  enable  the  students  graduating  from  the  institutions  included  in 
the  association  to  take  advantage  of  the  facilities  which  are  now,  or  may  hereafter 
be,  placed  at  their  disposal  in  the  Government  departments.  Your  committee 
believes  that  work  along  this  line  may  be  profitably  pursued  in  connection  with  other 
enterprises  which  the  association  may  have  in  hand  for  the  promotion  of  graduate 
study,  such  as  the  graduate  school  of  agriculture,  and  therefore  cordially  indorses  the 
recommendation  of  the  executive  committee  that  a  single  standing  committee  of 
graduate  study  be  appointed  to  take  the  place  of  this  committee,  and  any  other  com- 
mittees of  the  association  charged,  with  the  promotion  of  graduate  study. 

C.  Northrop, 
J.  E.  Stuebs, 

M.  II.   BUCKHAM, 

A.  C.  True, 
R.  H.  Jesse, 
C.  W.  Dabney, 

W.  0.  Thompson, 

( 'ommittee. 
The  report  was  accepted. 

II.  C.  White,  on  behalf  of  the  executive  committee,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
report  of  that  committee  and  of  the  committee  on  graduate  study  at  Washington, 
moved  that  the  title  of  the  standing  committee  on  graduate  study  at  Washington  be 
changed  by  the  omission  of  the  words  "at  Washington,"  so  as  to  constitute  a  stand- 
ing committee  on  graduate  study,  and  that  the  personnel  of  the  committee  be  not 
changed. 

Jn  view  of  the  fact  that  President  Northrop  expressed  an  earnest  desire  to  be 
relieved  from  further  service  on  this  committee  his  resignation  was,  on  motion  of 
II.  C.  White,  "accepted  with  great  regret,"  and  the  committee  was  authorized  to  till 
the  vacancy. 

Address  op  'run  President  op  the  Association. 

The  President  pro  tempore.   I  take  great  pleasure  in  introducing  President  .lames 

K.  Patterson,  of  Kentucky,  who  will  deliver  the  annual  address  of  the  president  of 
the  association. 

Gentlemen  op  the  Association  op  American  Agricultural  Colleges  ind  Experi- 
ment Stations:   I   thank  you  for  the  honor  which  you  have  conferred  upon  me  in 

21736— No.  142—04 3 


34 

selecting  me  to  preside  over  your  deliberations  during  the  present  session.  The 
highest  distinction  within  the  power  of  this  body  to  bestow  is  not  to  he  lightly 
esteemed,  and  1  can  only  wish  that  I  had  been  more  worthy  oi  it.     I  propose  to 

occupy  youi1  attention  to-night  for  a  brief  space  by  some  thoughts  on  the  origin  and 
work  of  the  colleges  and  universities  which  this  association  represents,  and  the  influ- 
ence thereof  upon  the  present  and  future  of  the  American  people. 

Many  men  distinguished  by  learning  and  experience  have  in  years  gone  by 
addressed  you  from  this  chair.  Some  having  sown  the  seed  which  others  in  due 
time  will  reap  have  already  passed  over  to  the  majority;  others  happily  are  still 
with  us  to  animate  by  their  zeal,  encourage  by  their  example,  and  stimulate  by 
their  attainments.  Like  the  pioneers  of  freedom  in  the  western  world;  like  the 
founders  of  the  great  republic;  like  the  statesmen  who  laid  the  foundation  of 
the  system  of  education  which  this  association  represents  to-day — these  men  have 
builded  wiser  than  they  knew  and  results  which  they  could  not  have  antici- 
pated have  followed.  Not  visionary  doctrinaires,  but  practical  men,  they  addressed 
themselves  to  use  to  the  best  advantage  the  material  ready  to  their  hands,  ami  as 
new  material  accumulated  incorporated  it  with  the  structure  as  it  grew — maintaining 
the  original  idea  of  utility  and  preserving  the  architectural  symmetry  of  the  funda- 
mental conception. 

The  organization  of  this  association  was  a  happy  thought.  These  annual  meetings 
have  brought  together  a  body  of  workers  and  of  thinkers  whose  thoughts  and 
achievements,  contributed  to  a  common  stock,  have  become  the  common  heritage  of 
all.  Happy  intuitions,  intelligent  scientific  forecasts  have  been  patiently  experi- 
mented upon,  translated  from  the  hypothetical  into  the  actual,  accepted  as  accredited 
results,  and  added  permanently  to  the  stock  of  human  knowledge.  Of  some  the 
relationship  became  immediately  apparent.  They  gravitated  at  once  into  position; 
discovered  their  proper  place  in  the  order  of  things;  filled  a  space  hitherto  unoccu- 
pied; bridged  over  a  hiatus;  supplied  a  missing  link.  Others  did  not  immediately 
yield  to  classification,  and  possible  affinities  required  further  investigation.  But, 
assailed  from  this  side  and  from  that  in  the  crucible  and  by  the  spectroscope,  a  stub- 
born isolation  could  not  long  be  maintained,  and  in  the  end  the  most  refractory 
yielded  to  the  analytic  of  the  human  intellect  and  the  potency  of  the  human  will. 

But  how  greatly  have  these  activities  been  stimulated  by  mutual  conference  and 
mutual  cooperation — a  hint  in  discussion  has  struck  a  spark  which  ignited  the  fuel 
into  a  flame;  a  bow  drawn  at  a  venture  has  found  a  joint  in  the  harness  and  pene- 
trated the  vitals  of  an  unsubdued  fact;  a  stray  seed  dropped  into  a  generous  soil  has, 
under  the  influence  of  sunshine  and  rain,  sprung  up  and  in  due  time  brought  forth 
fruit — first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  and  at  length  the  full  corn  in  the  ear. 

A  little  over  forty  years  ago  a  new  departure  took  place  in  education  in  America. 
Until  then  classics,  literature,  and  philosophy  had  been  thedominant  features  of  college 
work.  The  natural  sciences  were  still  in  their  infancy;  scientific  men  had,  however, 
for  more  than  half  a  century  been  working  along  scientific  lines;  a  priori  deduction' 
had  given  place  to  induction  founded  upon  observation  and  experiment.  The 
atomic  theory  of  Dalton;  the  correlation  of  physical  forces  worked  out  laboriously 
and  brilliantly  by  Helmholtz,  Joule,  and  Tyndall;  the  uniformitarian  hypothesis  of 
Sir  Charles  Lyell;  the  spectroscopic  analysis  of  Kirschhoff,  and,  above  all,  the  far- 
reaching  generalizations  of  Darwin  and  Wallace  had  made  a  new  epoch  in  scientific 
discovery.  It  recalled  the  spirit  of  adventure  which  roused  into  feverish  activity 
the  boundless  energy  and  heroic  endurance  of  Henry  the  Navigator,  Vasco  de  Gama, 
Christopher  Columbus,  and  Alphonso  Albuquerque  four  centuries  before. 

A  new  world  of  ideas  seemed  to  dawn  upon  mankind  with  the  introduction  of  the 
telegraph,  of  railway  construction,  of  steam  navigation,  and  the  application  of  science 
to  the  industrial  arts.  The  age  of  the  Utopia  of  Sir  Thomas  More  and  of  the  New 
Atlantis  of  Bacon,  divested  of  fantasy  and  clothed  in  the  habiliments  of  decorous 
sobriety,  seemed  to  have  dawned  upon  mankind.  The  stimulus  given  to  immigra- 
tion brought  hundreds  of  thousands  annually  to  our  shores,  and  the  impulse  given 
to  transcontinental  migration  through  the  development  of  the  railway  system  east 
of  the  Mississippi  transferred  hundreds  of  thousands  annually  from  the  Atlantic  and 
Middle  States  to  the  fertile  lands  stretching  out  in  forest  and  prairie,  ready  to  receive 
and  reward  the  hardy  and  industrious  pioneer  with  comfort  and  plenty. 

The  rich  gold  fields  of  the  West  acquired  by  conquest  and  purchase,  the  annexa- 
tion of  the  great  empire  of  the  Lone  Star  State,  the  boundless  domain  between  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Rockies,  inviting  capital  and  enterprise  for  pasturage  and  cultiva- 
tion, all  contributed  to  develop  a  feeling  of  unrest  and  a  longing  for  better  things. 
The  long  pent-up  energies  of  a  young,  vigorous,  self-reliant  people  broke  beyond  the 
geographical  limits  which  had  hitherto  hounded  their  labors  and  rewards  and  swept 
a  living  tide  of  humanity  over  hill  and  valley,  over  mountain  and  plain,  beyond  lake 


35 

and  river  into  the  illimitable  lands  of  the  Dear  and  middle  and  Ear  West  from  the 
Allegheniea  to  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri;  from  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  to  the 
greal  American  desert,  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
And  thus  the  wave  of  settlement,  adjusting  itself  to  peaceful  industry,  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  new  states,  planted  new  industries,  brought  vast  stretches  of  hitherto 
unproductive  lands  under  cultivation,  opened  up  tin-  treasures  of  the  mine,  multi- 
plied the  lines  of  communication,  and  poured  the  agricultural  and  mineral  wealth  of 
the  great  VVesl  into  the  commerce  of  the  world. 

Concurrently  with  these  recent  economic  changes,  resulting  from  the  operation  of 
natural  causes,  economic  changes  of  equal  magnitude  were  brought  about  through 
fiscal  Legislation  at  home  and  abroad.  The  establishment  of  t'n-e  trade  in  Great 
Britain  opened  the  markets  of  that  country  to  American  agricultural  products,  stimu- 
lating to  an  unwonted  degree  production  at  home  and  correspondingly  depressing 
agriculture  in  the  British  isles.  American  wheat  and  corn  monopolized  the  supply 
of  breadstuffs  to  the  British  artisan,  building  up  and  controlling  a  market  into  which 
no  other  competitors  could  enter  on  equal  terms.  Concurrently  therewith  the  pro- 
tectionist policy  adopted  by  the  United  States  not  only  rendered  this  country  inde- 
pendent of  foreign  supplies,  but  enabled  her  in  the  end  to  become  in  many  of  the 
chief  products  oi  the  mine,  the  forge,  and  the  loom  a  formidable  competitor  for  the 
chief  part  of  the  commerce  of  the  world. 

Under  these  conditions,  vaguely  apprehended  by  the  majority,  but  apprehended 
with  more  or  less  clearness  of  vision  by  a  tew  of  the  far-sighted  statesmen- of  the 
country,  the  Morrill  law  of  1862  was  passed  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 
There  arose  a  demand  for  a  system  of  education  adapted  to  tin-  needs  of  the  time, 
which  should  go  beyond  the  requirements  for  classics,  law,  medicine,  divinity,  and 
letters;  an  education  which,  without  proscribing  or  neglecting  classical  and  philo- 
sophical studies,  should  utilize  for  the  public  good  the  known  and  discoverable  laws 
and  processes,  of  nature  for  the  increase  of  production  and  the  multiplication  <»f  the 
comforts  and  necessities  of  life.  This  demand  the  Morrill  law  was  intended  to  satisfy, 
and  upon  this  foundation  more  than  fifty  State  colleges  and  universities  are 
established. 

Mr.  Morrill  saw  that  in  the  rapid  alienation  of  the  public  lands  through  settlement 
and  gratuitous  allotment  to  railway  corporations  the  public  domain  was  rapidly 
being  exhausted.  He  accordingly  determined  to  dedicate  a  part  of  this  rapidly 
diminishing  public  domain  to  the  education  of  the  American  people  along  new  lines 
ami  according  to  the  necessities  imposed  by  geographical  and  economic  conditions 
peculiar  to  the  Western  Hemisphere.  He  provided  that  land  script  should  be  given 
to  the  several  States  in  proportion  to  population  for  the  endowment  of  institution-  of 
learning,  wherein  should  be  taught  those  branches  of  learning  related  to  agriculture 
and  the  mechanic  arts,  without  excluding  classical  and  other  scientific  studies,  and 
including  military  tactics,  for  the  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several 
pursuits  and  professions  of  life.  This  was  a  radical  departure  from  the  old  idea  of 
education.  It  was  a  conception  of  university  work  such  as  had  never  yet  been  thought 
out  by  any  thinker  and  whose  realization  had  never  yet  been  attempted.  The 
existing  body  of  human  knowledge,  whether  of  mind  or  of  matter,  hypothetic-ally 
assumed  or  actually  realized,  was  to  be  made  available  for  appropriation  by  the 
learner;  and  the  far  greater  domain  of  nature,  unknown  or  partially  known,  invited 
the  investigator  through  observation  and  experiment  to  new  fields  of  discovery. 

The  old  institutions  looked  doubtfully  and  not  quite  sympathetically  on  the  new 
education.  They  gravely  shook  their  heads  at  the  credulity  of  those  who  thought 
that  investigation  in  those  branches  of  science  relating  to  agriculture  and  the 
mechanic  arts  could  be  carried  beyond  the  merest  rudiments  or  would  be  productive 
of  results  at  all  commensurate  with  the  expenditure  of  the  time  and  money  proposed. 
But  when  within  a  few  years  they  saw  an  interpretation  given  to  the  legislation  of 
Mr.  Morrill  which  did  not  confine  mechanic  arts  to  blacksmitbing,  carpentry,  and 
kindred  handicrafts;  which  went  beyond  the  still  more  advanced  conception  of  manual 
training  and  discovered  its  ultimate  application  in  engineering — mechanical,  electrical, 
civil,  sanitary,  and  mining;  when  they  saw,  as  preliminary  and  preparatory  to  these, 
extended  courses  in  mathematics,  chemistry,  and  physics,  reaching  far  above  and 
beyond  those  in  the  older  colleges  and  universities,  they  began  to  show  more  con- 
sideration f^r  the  new  and  to  ask.  "Can  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth?" 
When,  moreover,  they  saw  that  the  foundations  of  a  science  of  agriculture  were 
being  laid  in  extended  courses  of  botany,  comparative  anatomy,  and  physiology, 
biology,  chemistry,  entomology — that,  through  these,  barren  fields  were  made  fer- 
tile, the  products  of  animal  ami  vegetable  industry  improved  in  quality,  multiplied  in 
quantity,  and  increased  manifold  in  commercial  vahn — the  exclusiveness  of  the  old 
tacitly  acquiesced  in  a  modified  recognition  of  the  new. 


36 

Silently,  steadily,  resistlessly  the  aew  has  moved  on  regardless  of  the  contempt, 
the  pity,  the  tolerance  of  the  old.  Ere  long  the  new  institutions,  retaining  for  the 
most  part  the  classics  and  the  philosophies  of  the  old,  established  chemical,  physical, 
biological,  and  engineering  laboratories  on  a  scale  of  expenditure  and  completeness 
Ear  beyond  the  in 'sources  of  the  old;  they  set  the  pace  for  scientific  study  and  investi- 
gation in  America.  By  their  bold  experiments  and  stupendous  results  they  startled 
the  old  institutions  out  of  their  complacent  lethargy  and  roused  them  to  an  activity 
hitherto  unknown.  They  made  it  manifest  that  classical' and  philosophical  attain- 
ments and  discipline  could  exist  side  by  side  with  thorough  training  and  far- 
reaching  acquirements  in  natural  science,  and  that  these  latter  found  an  application 
in  the  development  of  agriculture  and  manufacturing  industry  out  of  all  proportion 
to  the  original  conception  on  which  the  legislation  of  L862  was  based. 

A  few  of  the  older  universities,  originally  denominational  but  long  since  secular- 
ized— Vale,  Harvard,  Princeton,  Columbia — with  prestige,  large  endowments,  and 
wealthy  alumni,  who  have  contributed  freely  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  their  capabil- 
ity and  activity;  ami  a  few  recently  founded  and  endowed  by  individual  munifi- 
cence on  a  scale  of  unprecedented  liberality — Johns  Hopkins,  belaud  Stanford,  and 
Chicago  University — stand  well  to  the  front  and  maintain  each  a  staff  of  workers  in 
the  held  of  investigation  who  are  the  peers  of  any  in  the  land.  Most  of  the  others, 
especially  those;  which  are  dependent  upon  denominational  support,  have  fallen 
hopelessly  to  the  real-.  The  colleges  ami  universities  established  under  the  Con- 
gressional act  of  L862,  whose  areas  of  activity  were  enlarged  by  the  supplementary 
legislation  of  1887  and  1<S*:0,  have  grown  so  rapidly  that  they  are  now  recognized  in 
most  of  the  States  as  the  chief  exponents  of  the  higher  education  coupled  with  the 
practical  education  which  finds  expression  in  ever  multiplying  bushels  of  wheat  and 
bales  of  cotton  and  tons  of  steel — an  education  which  conditions  and  renders  pos- 
sible the  supremacy  of  America  in  productive  activity  and  commercial  enterprise. 

But  our  scientilic  achievements  and  their  translation  into  material  wealth  must 
not  be  content  with  these  triumphs.  The  last  forty  years — a  period  coincident  with 
the  life  of  these  institutions — have  witnessed  an  increase  in  population  and  in  wealth 
such  as  the  dreams  of  the  most  sanguine  could  not  have  ventured  to  anticipate.  No 
parallel  for  it  exists  either  in  ancient  or  in  modern  history,  either  in  the  Old  World 
or  in  the  New;  and  the  actually  realized  power  and  wealth  of  the  nation  are  but  the 
beginning  of  greater  and  mightier  things  yet  to  be.  Within  another  half  century 
our  population  will  have  quadrupled,  our  wealth  increased  in 'more  than  corre- 
sponding proportion,  and  our  strength  on  land  and  sea  such  that  no  power  or  combina- 
tion of  powers  will  be  able  to  gainsay  or  resist.  In  this  mighty  onward  march  the 
State  colleges  and  universities  will  lead  the  van.  But  they  must  do  more  than  point 
the  way  which  leads  to  material  wealth  and  dominion.  Problems  relating  to  mind 
and  matter  of  surpassing  interest  to  mankind  are  pressing  for  solution,  and  to  their 
solution  the  scientists  and  laboratories  of  these  colleges  and  universities  must  con- 
tribute an  adequate  if  not  a  preponderant  share. 

For  example,  I  have  seen  it  stated  that  the  theory  set  forth  in  Prof.  Osborne  Rey- 
nolds's Sub-Mechanics  of  the  Universe  "that  not  a  flawless,  continuous  ether,  but  a 
granular  structure  of  the  spaces  of  the  universe  that  not  only  explains  all  observed 
phenomena  and  the  cans-  of  gravitation,  but  reveals  the  prime  cause  of  the  physical 
properties  of  matter  finds  for  the  present  one  of  its  chief  facts  of  interest  in  the 
fact  that  few  if  any  of  living  mathematicians  are  capable  of  following  his  demon- 
strations and  none  are  strong  enough  to  attack  it." 

Sir  William  Crookes,  in  an  address  to  the  International  Congress  for  Applied 
Chemistry  at  Berlin,  June  4  of  this  year,  said  that  chemists  now  admit  "the  possi- 
bility of  resolving  the  chemical  elements  into  simpler  forms  of  matter  or  even  of 
refining  them  away  altogether  into  ethereal  vibrations  of  electrical  energy."  He 
further  declared  that  "a  number  of  isolated  hypotheses  as  to  the  existence  of  mat- 
ter in  an  ultragasi'ous  state,  the  existence  of  material  particles  smaller  than  atoms, 
the  existence  of  electrical  ions  or  electrons,  the  constitution  of  Rontgen  rays  and 
their  passage  through  opaque  bodies,  the  emanations  from  uranium  and  the  disso- 
ciation of  the  elements  are  now  welded  into  one  harmonious  theory  by  the  discov- 
ery of  radium."  He  added  that  if  the  hypothesis  of  the  electronic  constitution  of 
matter  were  pushed  to  its  logical  limit  "it  is  possible  that  we  are  now  witnessing 
the  spontaneous  dissociation  of  radium,  and  if  so  must  begin  to  doubt  the  perma- 
nent stability  of  matter.  If  this  be  so  the  'formless  mist'  must  once  more  reign 
supreme  and  the  visible  universe  dissolve." 

Sir  Oliver  Lodge  in  the  Romanes  lecture  delivered  at  Oxford  on  the  14th  of  June 
suggested  that  "atoms  of  matter  are  actually  composed  of  concentrated  portions  of 
electricity  which  could  exist  separately  or  in  association.  Seven  hundred  such 
electrons  in  violent  orbital  motion  among  themselves  would  constitute  an  atom  of 


37 

hydrqgen;  11,200  electrons  would  form  an  atom  of  oxygen,  and  150,000,  an  atom  of 
radium.  We  have  on  this  theory  arrived  at  the  ultimate  chemical  particle,  various 
combinations  of  which  form  all  the  infinitely  diverse  aspects  of  matt 

Sir  Oliver  observes  thai  l'the  attraction  of  this  hypothesis  is  thai  it  represents  a 
unification  of  matter  and  a  reduction  of  all  material  Bubstance  to  a  purely  electrical 
phenomenon."  This  electrical  theory  of  matter  involves  two  consequences  a  con- 
tinual increase  in  the  velocity  <>f  the  constituents  of  an  atom  and  the  ultimate  insta- 
bility of  these  constituents.  There  is  thus  a  Btate  ol  flux  and  decay  "  in  the  founda- 
tion stones  of  the  universe,  the  elemental  atoms  themselves.11  Sir  Oliver  thinks, 
however,  that  "there  is  at  the  same  time  a  system  of  reaggregation  at  work  which 
constitutes  a  sort  of  regenerative  process  which  will  preserve  the  universe  by  the 
creation  of  new  forms  of  matter  in  the  place  of  forms  that  have  been  dissolved. 

If  these  things  be  so  it  can  no  longer  be  said  "that  the  ultimate  details  of  atomic 
constitution  are  beyond  our  scrutiny."  But,  granted  thai  these  details  are  known, 
the  mysteries  of  the  universe  are  still  unsolved.  What  is  the  nature  of  electric 
phenomena?  What  are  those  things  \\  hich  can  evolve  out  of  structureless  simplicity 
the  infinite  complexities  of  the  earth  and  heavens?  Does  a  directive  force,  intelli- 
gent and  eternal,  become  the  necessary  postulate  for  a  rational  concept  ion  of  the  uni- 
verse?   Are  we  warranted  in  concluding  with  Tennyson  that — 

"Only  that  which  made  us,  meant  us  to  be  mightier  by  and  by, 
Set  the  sphere  of  all  the  boundless  heavens  within  the  human  eye; 
Sent  the  shadow  of  Himself,  the  boundless,  through  the  human  soul 
Boundless,  inward  in  the  atom,  boundless  outward  in  the  whole." 

We  are  manifestly  on  the  threshold  of  mighty  discoveries.  What  part  will  the 
American  intellect  play  in  the  investigation  and  solution  of  these  problems?  What 
part  will  the  colleges  and  universities  of  this  association  play  in  the  unfolding  of  this 
stupendous  drama?  In  the  laboratories  of  the  chemist  and  the  physicist  the  work 
must  he  done.  To  this  end  we  need  skillful  worker-,  clear  thinkers,  prophetic  men 
with  trained  intellects  and  scientific  imaginations.  To  this  end  we  need  special  en- 
dowments for  research;  hut  special  endowment  for  research  means  large  expenditure 
for  the  best  material  facilities  which  ingenuity  can  devise  and  skilled  workmanship 
can  construct.  It  means  also  highly  disciplined  and  trained  investigators  whose  time 
is  not  occupied  with  the  drudgery  of  instruction,  but  which  is  devoted  entirely  to 
original  work. 

These  conditions  necessarily  imply  lar<re  expenditure,  and  the  means  fortius  must 
be  obtained  from  the  liberality  of  the  nation  and  from  the  generosity  of  individuals. 
We  must  encourage  the  study  of  higher  mathematics  in  order  to  develop  men  who 
shall  be  able  to  follow  and  interpret  the  mathematics  on  which  such  theories  as 
those  of  the  Sub-Mechanics  of  the  Universe  rest.  We  must  create  in  our  labora- 
tories the  Curies  and  the  Kelvins  and  the  Crookes  and  the  Clerk-Maxwells,  the 
Rutherfords  and  Bancrofts  and  Oswalds,  who  shall  grapple  with  and  if  possible  solve 
the  mysteries  of  the  physical  universe.  This,  I  trust,  will  fall  largely  to  the  lot  of 
the  colleges  and  universities  which  we  represent  to-day.  Let  us  hope  that  from  their 
halls  shall  issue  the  honored  few;  from  their  ranks  shall  arise  the  heroes  of  science 
who,  in  the  achievement  of  these  last  and  greatest  results,  shall  be  welcomed  to  join 
the  ranks  of  the  immortals. 

With  the  accession  of  the  Tudors  in  I486  the  influence  of  England  in  continental 
affairs  had  materially  diminished.  The  days  of  Crecy  and  Poitiers  and  Agincourt 
with  the  passing  of  England's  heroes— the  Black  Prince  and  Henry  V — had  also 
passed  away.  The  treaty  of  Pecquini  had  left  England  none  of  her  continental  pos- 
sessions except  Calais,  and  this  too  was  to  pass  to  the  house  of  Valois  before  the 
Tudors  ceased  to  reign.  The  ascendency  of  Spain  was  unquestioned.  Even  after 
the  abdication  of  Charles  V  the  Spanish  monarchy  was  the  most  powerful  in  the 
world.  The  vast  over-sea  possessions  which  that  monarch  had  inherited  from 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  he  transmitted,  enlarged  and  consolidated,  to  his  son  Philip. 
But  the  growing  sea  power  of  England,  after  the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  was  destined 
ere  the  close  of  the  century  to  Lrive  the  Spanish  power  a  fatal  blow.  The  defeat  of 
the  Armada  sealed  the  fate  of  Spanish  supremacy,  and  proved  that  something  more 
than  prestige  and  gold  was  needful  on  which  to  build  national  power  and  national 
prosperity.  From  loss  the  star  of  Spanish  dominion  gradually  declined  and  the 
scepter  was  by  degrees  transferred  to  mightier  hands. 

England  followed  dose  upon  the  track  of  discovery,  but  more  than  a  century  p 
before  any  permanent  settlement  was  made  by  her  in  the  New  World.      Though  she 
entered  later  on  the  race  of  trans- Atlantic  adventure  than  either  Spain  or  France,  yet 
she  was  destined  to  outstrip  all  her  competitors  in  colonial  dominion.     The  colonies 
founded  during  the  reign  of  the  successor  of  the  greal  Tudor  queen  were  established 


38- 

riot  by  men  impelled  by  the  lust  of  gold,  but  by  men  who  sought  political  freedom 
and  liberty  to  worship  God  according  to  their  conscience.  They  carried  with  them 
love  of  home,  reverence  for  law,  a  dee})  sense  of  the  inalienable  rights  of  man,  and 
the  conviction  that  in  their  veins  flowed  the  blood  of  Alfred  and  of  the  barons  who 
extorted  the  Magna  Charta  from  King  John  on  the  field  of  Runnymede;  and  here, 
with  these  convictions  and  with  these  traditions,  they  laid  the  foundations  of  what 
in  the  immediate  future  will  be  the  mightiest  nation  which  the  world  has  ever  seen. 
The  Revolution  of  1776  broke  the  political  bonds  which  united  the  original  colonies 
to  the  mother  country;  but  it  did  not  break  the  bonds  of  blood,  of  inherited  tradi- 
tions, and  of  the  glory  which  attached  to  the  common  inheritance.  All  the  glorious 
ideals  of  the  race  have  quickened,  enlarged,  and  intensified;  and  have  found  realiza- 
tion to  a  degree  which  could  never  have  been  attained  within  the  narrow  limits  of 
the  original  home  in  the  Old  World.  The  immemorial  heritage  of  freedom  brought 
by  Angle  and  Jute  and  Saxon  from  the  banks  of  the  Saale  to  those  of  the  Thames 
and  the  I  lumber  and  the  Dee,  and  after  ages  of  growth  within  the  British  Isles 
transplanted  to  ampler  fields  in  America  has  found  its  ultimate  development  in  the 
great  nation  of  whose  origin  and  history  we  arc  all  so  proud  to-day.  And  it  may 
surely  be  a  source  of  legitimate  pride  to  the  mother  country  that  the  great  empire, 
which  neither  the  ambition  of  Louis  XIV  nor  the  conquering  power  of  Napoleon 
could  dismember,  received  its  first  rude  shock  from  the  courage  which  she  had  com- 
municated to  her  emancipated  offspring,  and  that  amid  trans-Atlantic  wilds  grew  up 
a  race  of  men  who  have  established  real  liberty  on  the  principles  which  they  inherited 
from  ancestors  who  were  the  countrymen  and  compatriots  of  Bacon  and  Sidney,  of 
Hampden  and  ( )liver  Cromwell. 

In  the  United  States  of  to-day  even  the  busiest  and  the  most  actively  employed  in 
the  intervals  of  leisure  stop  to  inquire  whence  they  came,  what  they  art,  and  whither 
they  tend.  The  apprehension  has  been  felt  and  expressed  that  we  are  too  much 
given  up  to  the  acquisition  of  wealth,  too  material,  that  we  care  nothing  for  the  past, 
are  absorbed  in  the  cares  of  the  present,  and  clothe  the  future  in  the  draping  of  the 
accumulated  gains  built  upon  the  foundations  which  wTe  have  laid.  The  hundreds 
have  grown  into  the  thousands,  the  thousands  into  the  millions;  we  look  to  a  future 
wh:  n  the  latter  shall  have  expanded  into  billions;  and  then  the  golden  age  in  another 
sense  than  that  .of  the  ancients  will  have  superseded  and  supplanted  all  others, 
and  wealth  not  brains  will  rule  mankind.  But  wealth  in  the  second  generation,  if 
not  in  the  first,  looks  anxiously  for  a  background  of  respectability.  This  is  a  whole- 
some feeling  and  a  healthy  indication.  The  wealthy  long  for  something  more  than 
mere  wealth  to  differentiate  them  from  the  masses.  Energy  and  capacity  and  ability 
to  accumulate  wealth  were  indispensable,  but  these  must  have  had  an  antecedent 
existence  in  the  family.  Heredity  and  atavism  are  assumed  as  the  necessary  condi- 
tions and  these  are  sought  for  in  family  history.  Family  traditions,  family  records, 
title  deeds,  names  and  surnames,  on  this  side  the  Atlantic  and  on  the  other,  are 
eagerly  examined,  studied,  collated,  and  translated  into  genealogies  embodied  in 
family  trees  with  all  the  accessories  of  crests,  mottoes,  armorial  bearings,  and  coats 
of  arms.  These  ideas  are  not  incompatible  with  republicanism.  The  Washingtons 
and  Jeffersons  and  Adamses  and  Winthrops  of  colonial  time  were  proud  of  their  title 
deeds  and  genealogies  and  descent  from  the  gentry  and  gentlemen  and  nobility  of 
the  mother  country.  Not  only  were  the  leaders  in  the  American  revolt  of  177(5  gen- 
tlemen and  the  sons  of  gentlemen,  but  most  of  the  noncommissioned  orliecrs  and  men 
were  of  reputable  English  and  Scotch  and  Irish  descent.  Gentlemen  fought  and 
won  in  the  Revolutionary  contest.  In  no  subsequent  war  in  which  the  United  States 
has  been  engaged  did  the  armies  of  the  Republic  contain  so  large  a  proportion  of 
gentlemen.  What,  then,  is  called  the  modern  craze  for  geneaology  is  a  healthy,  con- 
servative, mental  condition,  an  effort,  to  discover,  and  if  not  to  discover,  to  make  a 
place  in  the  annals  of  recorded  or  unrecorded  gentility.  Fortunately  the  original 
contributory  elements  which  make  up  the  history  of  the  great  Republic  are  not  so 
difficult  to  discover.  The  early  history  of  Puritan,  Pilgrim,  and  Cavalier  is  well 
known.  The  politico-religious  ferment  which  led  to  the  emigration  of  the  one  and 
the  spirit,  of  adventure  which  led  to  the  voluntary  expatriation  of  the  other  are 
matters  of  history. 

Other-  contributory  elements  from  Germany  and  Scandinavia  and  central  and 
eastern  Europe  have  swelled  the  population  of  this  newer  and  mightier  England 
which  occupies  the  best  half  of  the  North  American  continent,  but  the  basis,  the 
backbone,  the  brain  of  the  country  remains  and  will  remain  Anglo-Saxon.  Our 
history  thus  finds  its  l'oots  in  the  history  of  the  peoples  of  the  Old  World  and  pre- 
eminently in  that  of  middle  England,  which  stands  midway  between  the  Saxon  of 
the  Saale  and  the  Saxon  of  America,  Through  our  relations  with  them  Robert 
Bruce  and  Bannockburn  are  ours;  Hastings  and  Runnymede,  Evesham  and  Crecy, 


39 

Bosworth  field  and  Marston  Moor.  Blenheim  and  Culloden.  Through  them  wo 
inherit  the  glory  of  an  inalienable  birthright  in  the  common  law,  in  the  growth  of 
parliamentary  government,  in  the  reformation  of  Knox,  and  the  martyrdom  of  Lati- 
mer and  Ridley.  Through  them  we  claim  an  equal  inheritance  in  Wyclif  and  Bacon 
and  Shakespeare;  in  Newton  and  Boyle  and  Harve^;  in  Burleigh  and  Halifax  and 
Chatham;  while  we  allow  them  to  share  the  greatness  of  those  who  are  peculiarly 
our  own,  Franklin,  Washington,  Longfellow,  Andrew  Jackson,  and  Abraham 
Lincoln. 

Now,  inasmuch  as  the  students  in  our  colleges  and  universities  are  or  should  be 
educated  nol  as  scholars  and  scientists  only,  but  as  citizens  who  will  he  concerned  in 
shaping  the  destinies  of  the  greatest  people  whom  the  world  has  ever  seen,  it  is  not 
less  incumbent  that  adequate  provision  be  made  for  the  attainment  of  the  one  end 
equally  with  the  other.  The  State  university  must  ho  what  Ezra  Cornell,  in  found- 
ing the  university  which  bears  his  name,  wanted  it  to  become,  viz,  a  place  where 
everything  could  he  taught  which  it  is  possible  to  teach,  ami  where  everything  could 
be  learned  which  it  is  possible  lor  one  to  know. 

I  would  urge,  then,  with  all  the  insistence  which  I  may,  the  necessity  that  history 
and  political  philosophy  with  all  their  correlated  subjects  should  become  a  special 
feature  of  the  university  and  collegiate  instruction  which  we  represent.  In  many 
institutions  they  are  already  distinctive  features.  They  should  he  made  distinctive 
and  obligatory  in  all. 

Within  the  last  two  hundred  years  history  has  been  made  rapidly  in  America. 
For  a  time  almost  isolated  from  contact  with  European  nationalities  and  in  touch 
with  the  old  World  mainly  through  official  relationships,  political  life  developed 
without  interference  from  abroad.  -The  theory  of  the  New  England  commonwealth 
gradually  became  more  political  and  less  theological;  the  limits  imposed  upon  relig- 
ious freedom  gradually  relaxed  and  political  freedom  became  more  unrestained. 
The  colonists  were  law-abiding,  but  the  laws  to  which  they  subjected  themselves 
were  of  their  own  making.  So  strong,  however,  was  the  traditional  respect  for  law 
and  order,  and  so  conservative  were  they  when  least  restrained  by  external  authority, 
that  their  legislation  never  tended  to  sap  the  foundations  of  the  commonwealth  nor 
to  impair  the  obligations  of  contract.  Legislation  was  generally  along  the  lines  of 
precedent,  following  the  recognized  principles  of  the  common  law  and  adhering 
closely  to  the  rights  and  duties  laid  down  in  the  great  charter  of  English  freedom. 
When  under  new  conditions  new  legislation  was  needed  for  which  no  precedent 
existed  known  to  the  lawmakers,  the  ample  shield  of  the  spirit  of  the  common  law 
and  of  Magna  Charta  was  invoked  to _cover  them.  So  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
law  by  the  judge  on  the  bench;  if  statute  law  did  not  exist  to  meet  the  cause  in 
action,  the  common  law  was  so  interpreted  as  to  apply,  and  the  spirit  of  jurisprudence 
came  to  the  relief  of  the  dispenser  of  justice. 

And  this  was  exactly  what  had  happened  hundreds  of  years  before  in  YVessex  and 
Kent  and  East  Anglia  and  Mercia  and  Northumbria.  The  principles  of  law  and 
equity  had  grown  up  silently  in  the  community,  enlarging  in  their  application  as 
new  conditions  arose,  and  became  embeddedin  the  hearts  of  Englishmen  ages  before 
they  found  articulate  expression  in  the  laws  of  Ina  and  Offa,  Alfred  and  Ethelred; 
ages  before  the  charters  of  John  and  Henry  and  Edward  placed  the  seal  forever  on 
the  recognized  and  inalienable  rights  of  Englishmen.  This  spirit  and  these  tradi- 
tions they  brought  with  them  to  the  new  world.  England  alone  of  all  the  world 
could  supply  such  colonists,  and  England  alone  of  all  the  world  could  continue, with- 
out exhaustion,  the  work  of  colonization  on  such  a  scale  as  to  assure  ultimate  success. 
The  Puritans  of  the  North  and  the  Cavaliers  of  the  South,  reinforced  in  later  times 
by  the  sturdy  Scot  from  the  Lowlands  and  the  Highlands  and,  later  on,  by  the  equally 
hardy  Scots  of  Ulster  formed  the  basis  of  American  nationality,  and  a  nobler  ances- 
try the  world  has  never  seen.  The  characteristics  of  the  first  settlers  remain  the 
predominant  characteristics  of  the  typical  American  of  to-day  and,  however  affected 
by  subsequent  infusions  from  continental  sources,  remain  in  large  measure  unmodi- 
fied. This  prepotency  of  race  and  of  blood  is  manifest  in  every  phase  of  the  history  of 
the  American  people.  Only  people  of  Anglo-Saxon  blood,  Anglo-Saxon  endurance, 
and  Anglo-Saxon  devotion  to  freedom  couid  have  maintained  and  carried  the  strug- 
gle for  independence  to  a  successful  issue  against  the  power  of  the  mother  country. 
Only  people  of  Anglo-Saxon  blood  could  have  maintained  and  successfully  concluded 
the  second  trial  of  strength  with  the  might  of  the  British  Empire  in  the  war  of  1812. 
Only  the  descendants  of  this  heroic  stock  could  have  routed  t  hi1  armies  of  Mexico  and 
planted  the  Stars  and  Stripes  upon  the  ramparts  of  Chapultepec  and  Churubusco; 
and  iii  that  terrific  contest,  fought  out  forty  years  ago  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
integrity  of  the  Republic,  when  armies  larger  than  those  engaged  at  Marengo,  Wag- 
ram,  Austerlitz,  Jena,  or  Waterloo,  met  each  other  on  the  field  of  battle,  the  men  on 


40 

both  sides,  who  led  them  to  victory  or  defeat,  and  the  men  who  composed  them 
were  in  the  main  the  descendants  of  the  pioneers  whose  ancestors  had  lived  for 
thirty  generations  within  the  four  seas  of  Britain.  Lee  and  Jackson  and  Stuart  and 
Hampton  and  Gordon,  McClellan  and  Grant  and  Sheridan  and  Sherman  and 
Thomas  are  as  thoroughly  British  names  as  Cromwell  and  Marlborough  and  Wolf 
and  "Wellington.  With  this  people,  its  noble  ancestry,  its  inspiring  traditions,  its 
stupendous  achievements,  and  its  glorious  history,  I  would  have  the  most  ample  pro- 
vision made  in  every  institution  in  this  association  for  its  students  to  become 
acquainted.  The  educated  American  should  know  the  history  of  his  own  people  in 
itself  and  in  its  relations.  We  go  back  beyond  1776,  beyond  1620  and  1607.  The 
roots  of  our  being  are  identical  with  those  of  the  patriots  who  worked  out  patiently 
and  laboriously  for  six  hundred  years  the  problems  of  parliamentary  government,  of 
the  relation  of  the  subject  to  the  state,  of  taxation  to  representation,  of  the  coordi- 
nation of  liberty  and  authority.  English  history  before  177(>  belongs  as  much  to 
Americans  as  to  Englishmen,  and  American  institutions  are  unintelligible  if  dissev- 
ered from  their  rational  relationship.  The  American  Constitution  without  the  prior 
existence  of  Magna  Charta,  Habeas  Corpus,  and  the  Bill  of  Rights  would  have  been 
impossible. 

On  one  occasion  Lord  Beaconsfield  gave  utterance  to  a  felicitous  expression  which 
roused  to  an  intense  self-consciousness  the  hearts  of  the  British  people.  "Libertas  et 
imperium"  struck  a  note  which  vibrated  through  the  British  Isles.  They  felt  that 
they  had  achieved  empire  through  freedom.  1  would  strike  a  kindred  note  here 
to-day.  I  would  have  this  association  adopt  the  motto:  Education  and  Empire. 
Freedom  we  have.  Freedom  forms  the  basis  of  our  national  existence,  the  air  which 
it  breathes,  the  inspiration  of  the  life  which  it  lives.  But  the  inspiration  and  the 
vitality  of  freedom  and  of  empire  must  henceforth  be  intelligence — developed, 
strengthened,  exalted,  purified. 

Not  long  since  a  conference  of  allied  colonial  universities  was  held  in  London. 
There  were  present  men  like  Lord  Kelvin  and  the  leader  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
eminent  representatives  of  learning  and  science,  men  high  in  authority  in  the  old 
universities  of  the  mother  country,  and  men  of  distinction  in  the  more  recently 
established  universities  of  the  King's  oversea  dominions.  Mr.  Balfour  announced 
the  object  of  the  meeting  to  be  "An  alliance  of  all  the  universities  that  in  an  increasing 
measure  are  feeling  their  responsibilities  not  merely  for  training  the  youth  which  is 
destined  to  carry  on  the  traditions  of  the  British  Empire,  but  also  to  further  those 
great  interests  of  knowledge,  scientific  research,  and  culture,  without  which  no 
empire,  however  materially  magnificent,  can  really  say  that  it  is  doing  its  share  in 
the  progress  of  the  world."  What  the  statesmen  of  the  kindred  people  beyond  the 
Atlantic;  seek  to  do,  we  have  already  been  doing  for  years.  This  federation  of  colleges 
and  universities  has  been  addressing  itself  to  realize  the  objects  set  forth  in  the  lan- 
guage just  quoted,  viz,  the  furtherance  of  the  great  interests  of  knowledge,  scientific 
research,  and  liberal  culture,  "without  which  no  empire,  however  materially  magnifi- 
cent, can  really  say  that  it  is  doing  its  share  in  the  progress  of  the  world."  No  such 
federation  of  educational  agencies  and  activities  as  this  association  of  ours  has  ever 
been  seen.  It  is  the  first,  the  greatest,  the  most  far-reaching  in  its  aims,  and  the  most 
successful  in  its  results.  It  has  long  since  passed  beyond  the  embryonic  stage. 
Embracing  within  its  ample  scope  all  that  is  valuable  in  the  old  and  incorporating  it 
with  new  ideals,  it  presents  to  the  nation  and  the  world  a  system  complete  because 
all-embracing,  and,  inspired  by  the  vigor  of  youth,  goes  on  conquering  and  to  con- 
quer.     "To  the  solid  ground  of  nature  trusts  the  mind  which  builds  for  aye." 

American  institutions  have  materially  influenced  the  principles  of  government  in 
the  Old  World;  American  education  is  accomplishing  a  similar  work  in  influencing 
the  educational  systems  of  Europe.  Germany  has  felt  its  power,  great  though  Ger- 
many be  in  intellect,  in  pure  science,  in  discovery;  England  frankly  acknowledges 
her  obligations  to  American  methods  in  university  training  and  in  the  application  of 
science  to  industrial  production;  Russia  in  her  commercial  exclusiveness  pays  a 
reluctant  tribute  to  American  enterprise.  All  these  are  legitimate  sources  of  an 
honorable  pride,  and  all  the  more  gratifying  because  the  federation  of  American 
colleges  and  experiment  stations  is  the  exponent  of  the  idea.  The  precedence  which 
we  have  won  we  must  maintain. 

In  hoc  signo  vinces.  State  and  nation  are  alike  interested  in  the  existence  and 
development  of  the  units  which  form  this  organization;  and  State  and  nation  will 
respond  with  equal  liberality  in  order  to  maintain  the  most  comprehensive,  most 
economic,  most  fruitful  educational  activity  which  human  wisdom  ever  devised. 

From  a  glorious  past,  through  a  marvelous  present,  to  an  illustrious  future,  the 
transition  is  natural  and  easy.  If  the  growth  and  prosperity  witnessed  within  the 
memory  of  living  persons  have  been  unexampled,  it  is  because  conditions — intel- 


41 

lectual,  moral,  religious,  social,  material,  and  political  -existed  Bach  as  never  existed 
before.  Some  of  these  will  continue,  others  will  undergo  material  modification. 
The  intellect  through  scientific  discovery  and  liberal  culture  will  probably  become 

more  keen  and  more  intense  in  its  activity.  Social  conditions  and  relation-  will 
change  as  they  are  changing  now.  The  rich  will  become  relatively  richer  and  the 
poor  perhaps  poorer.  \  greater  mastery  will  be  obtained  over  the  powers  of  nature. 
subordinating  them  to  human  control  and  to  I an  utility.  The  visible  embodi- 
ments of  the  collective  will  in  civil  government  executive,  legislative,  and  judicial 
will  be  determined  by  the  moral  and  religious  ideas  and  convictions  which  prevail. 

It  there  he  wholesome,  vital,  intense,  ami  Strong  social  ami  political  convictions, 
the  relation  of  the  individual  to  the  community,  of  the  citizen  to  the  State,  will  be 
(let  em  lined  by  honest  and  rational  means  tor  t  he  attainment  of  high  and  honorable 
ends.  Upon  the  moral  and  religious  life  of  the  future  will  depend  the  future  great- 
ness of  the  greal  Republic.  The  vigorous  beliefs  in  which  the  lathers  and  the 
mothers  of  the  olden  times  were  brought  up  have  without  doubt  changed,  [a  it  for 
the  better  or  for  the  worse?  Let  us  hope  that  human  elements  only  have  been 
eliminated  and  all  that  is  divine  is  retained;  that  the  dross  and  tin  have  been  purged 
and  that  the  gold  remains.  lint  somehow  the  shadow  of  a  doubl  sometimes  crosses 
the  mind  that  not  the  form  only  but  the  essence  has  changed,  that — 

"  Now   there  are  new  religions,  many  the  codes  and  the  creeds, 
Many  the  quibbling  changes  to  lit  with  our  fanciful  needs, 
All  of  them  waxing  milder,  waning  in  strength  and  tone; 

NOiie  of  them  stern  and  sturdy;  none  of  them  stand  alone. 
None  like  the  old  religions — those  that  the  fathers  made, 
Built  on  the  fearless  hasis — the  God  of  the  unafraid. " 

The  moral  and  religious  tone  of  the  country  upon  which  the  greatness  of  the  nation 
will  depend  will  he  influenced  largely  by  the  moral  and  religions  tone  which  pervades 
the  colleges  and  universities  which  compose  this  association.  Let  us  see  to  it  that 
the  (loil  of  our  fathers,  reliance  upon  whom  carried  them  through  the  throes  and 
perils  of  the  birth  of  the  nation,  is  not  forgotten;  let  us  see  that  "the  divinity  that 
Bhapes  our  ends,  rough-hew  them  how  we  will,"  is  still  recognized  and  reverenced — 
conscious  that  amid  human  affairs  there  is  a  power  that  works  for  progress  and 
for  righteousness  and  that  the  great  lesson  of  all  history,  specially  emphasized  and 
exemplified  inourown,  is  the  realizing  Of  the  divine  in  the  human;  of  the  infinite  in 
the  finite;  of  the  eternal  in  the  temporal;  that — 

"Not  in  vain  the  nation's  strivings 
Nor  by  chance  the  current's  flow, 
Error  mazed  yet  truth  directed 
To  their  destined  goal  they  go." 

We  can  picture  to  ourselves  ere  the  close  of  this  century  a  nation  of  seven  hundred 
millions  of  people,  Christian,  peaceful,  rich,  and  happy;  with  realized  industrial, 
agricultural,  and; commercial  wealth,  tenfold  that  of  the  present;  with  a  predominant 
influence  in  the  councils  of  the  world;  with  a  fiscal  system  light  in  its  burdens,  with 
income  balancing  expenditure,  with  laws  just  and  equitably  administered;  with  igno- 
rance banished,  crime  restrained,  and  pauperism  nonexistent;  with  the  relations  of 
wealth  and  labor  rightfully  adjusted;  and  above  all  with  a  deep,  all-pervading  sense 
of  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man. 

AVe  can  fancy  These  colleges  and  universities  with  endowments  counted  by  millions 
and  students  by  tens  of  thousands,  recognized  as  the  prime  factors  in  individual  and 
national  wealth  and  greatness;  venerable  abodes  of  learning  diffusing  through  their 
sons  and  daughters  an  enlightenment  and  culture  pervaded  by  a  deep  religious  sense, 
enlightened  by  science,  and  a  science  leavened  and  glorified  by  religion.  We  can 
think  of  them  as  the  depositories  of  discovered  truth  whence  the  pilgrims  of  every 
kindred  and  clime  recruil  their  stores  for  the  enlightenment  of  mankind;  as  beacons 
whose  illuminating  beams  irradiate  every  continent  ami  transcend  every  sea.  Then 
shall  we  realize  the  vision  of  the  Hebrew  prophet:  "Who  are;  these  that  fly  as  a 
cloud  and  as  doves  to  their  windows?  Their  sons  shall  come  from  afar  and  their 
daughters  shall  be  nursed  at  thy  side,  *  *  *  and  I  will  make  the  place  of  thy  feel 
glorious." 

1  hippy  land,  happy  people,  yea  happy  is  that  people  whose  God  is  the  Lord. 

The  convention  at  9.30  p.  m.  adjourned. 


42 
Morning  Session,  Wednesday,  November  18,  1903. 

The  report  of  the  committee  upon  memorials  being  called  for,  H.  E.  Alvord,  on 
behalf  of  that  committee,  stated  that  arrangements  had  been  made  for  the  delivery 
of  the  two  addresses  desired,  one  by  Dr.  F.  W.  Gunsaulus,  of  Chicago,  on  President 
Beardshear,  of  Iowa;  the  other  by  President  P.  H.  Mell,  of  South  Carolina,  on  Presi- 
dent Broun,  of  Alabama;  but  that  notice  had  been  received  that  Doctor  Gunsaulus 
had  met  with  an  accident  which  would  prevent  him  from  being  present. 

The  other  address  was  delivered  by  President  Mell,  as  follows: 

Memorial  Address  on  President  W.  L.  Broun. 

Dr.  William  LeKoy  Broun  was  born  in  Loudon  County,  Va.,  in  1827,  and  died  in 
Auburn,  Ala.,  January  23,  1902,  in  the  seventy-fifth  year  of  his  age.  His  was  a  life  of 
long  and  faithful  service  to  his  country  in  the  contribution  he  made  to  science  and  in 
the  great  work  he  did  as  an  educator  of  national  reputation.  The  writer  was  associ- 
ated with  Doctor  Broun  as  student  and  colleague  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  this 
opportunity  has  been  peculiarly  advantageous  for  studying  his  character  and  his 
work  in  public  and  private  life. 

Doctor  Broun  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Virginia  and  graduated  from  that 
institution  in  1850  with  the  degree  of  master  of  arts.  Soon  after  graduation  he  was 
elected  to  a  position  in  a  Mississippi  college  which  he  filled  until  1854,  when  he  was 
selected  by  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  University  of  Georgia  for  the  chair  of  mathe- 
matics. He  remained  in  connection  with  the  University  of  Georgia  until  1857.  when 
he  resigned  to  organize  the  Bloomfield  School,  situated  near  the  University  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  he  conducted  this  school  with  great  success  until  the  opening  of  hostilities 
between  the  States  in  1861.  In  1859  he  was  married  to  Miss  Sallie  Fleming,  of 
Hanover  County,  Va. 

When  war  was  declared  between  the  States,  Doctor  Broun  enlisted  as  lieutenant  of 
artillery,  and  spent  one  year  in  the  field  with  the  army  of  Virginia.  He  was  then 
ordered  to  Richmond  and  made  superintendent  of  armories  with  the  rank  of  major, 
and  was  detailed  to  examine  into  the  resources  and  facilities  at  the  command  of  the 
South  for  the  manufacture  of  arms  and  ammunition.  He  visited  many  places,  par- 
ticularly in  North  Carolina  and  Georgia,  to  determine  the  practicability  of  making  sul- 
phuric acid  and  other  chemicals  required  for  the  manufacture  of  powder  and  percussion 
caps.  In  1862  he  was  stationed  at  Holly  Springs,  Miss. ,  in  charge  of  a  factory  designed 
for  the  manufacture  of  small  arms,  but  the  defeat  of  Gen.  A.  S.  Johnston's  army  at 
Shiloh,  Tenn.,  compelled  him  to  remove  the  machinery  to  Meridian,  Miss.,  and 
shortly  afterwards  he  was  attached  to  the  ordnance  department  and  ordered  to 
Richmond,  where  he  remained  until  its  evacuation. 

Some  illustrations  here  given  show  the  importance  of  Colonel  Broun' s  services  to 
the  Confederate  cause. 

He  suggested  and  conducted  the  first  civil-service  examination  ever  held  in  this 
country.  This  was  brought  about  by  the  numerous  applications  for  service  in  the 
ordnance  department  because  of  an  enactment  of  the  Confederate  congress  authoriz- 
ing the  appointment  of  50  new  ordnance  officers.  This  examination  was  held  in 
1862.     Colonel  Broun  was  president  of  the  board  of  examiners. 

He  prepared  a  field  ordnance  manual  by  abridging  the  old  United  States  manual 
and  adapting  it  to  the  Confederate  service.  This  work  was  published  by  the  gov- 
ernment and  distributed  in  the  army. 

lie  was  appointed  commander  of  the  Richmond  arsenal  in  186.3,  where  the  greater 
part  of  the  ordnance  stores  were  manufactured.  It  is  said  that,  but  for  the  valuable 
work  performed  in  this  connection  by  Colonel  Broun,  the  Confederate  struggle  would 
have  ended  long  before  it  did.  His  fertile  genius  used  every  available  resource.  In 
an  article  published  several  years  since  in  an  issue  of  the  Journal  of  the  United 
Slates  Artillery,  Colonel  Broun  speaks  of  this  work  as  follows:  "Cannon  were  made 
in  the  Tredegar  Iron  Works,  including  siege  and  field  guns,  Napoleons,  howitzers, 
and  banded  cast-iron  guns.  Steel  guns  were  not  made.  We  had  no  facilities  for 
making  steel  and  no  time  to  experiment.  The  steel  guns  used  by  the  Confederate 
States  were  highly  valued,  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  purchased  abroad,  were 
all  captured  from  the  Federals." 

In  this  arsenal  tin;  old  United  States  machine,  which  did  not  yield  a  large  supply 
of  percussion  caps,  was  greatly  improved,  so  that  2  men  with  6  boys  and  girls  were 
able  to  complete  300,000  caps  every  eight  hours,  or  a  capacity  of  1,000,000  caps  per 
day. 


43 

Under  his  direction  Bulphuric  acid  was  tnanufactared  in  North  ( larolina  after  many 
failures  in  attempting  to  obtain  the  lead  required  for  lining  the  chambers.  Niter 
was  obtained  from  caves  and  from  leaching  in  ricks  tin-  remains  of  dead  horses  and 
other  animals.  The  sulphuric  acid  and  niter  were  made  into  nitric  arid  at  the  arse- 
nal, and  thus  the  fulminate  was  developed  which  was  required  for  the  manufacture 
of  caps.  The  mercury  supply  becoming  exhausted  near  the  close  of  the  war,  the 
problem  became  a  serious  one    li<>\v  to  make  the  caps  without  fulminate  of  mercury. 

Experiments,  however,  were  conducted,  resulting  in   the  use  of  a  c bination  of 

chlorate  of  potash  ami  Bulphurel  of  antimony.  Battles  around  Petersburg  were 
fought  with  caps  made  of  this  compound. 

He  developed  a  plan  for  increasing  the  accuracy  and  range  <>f  the  Bmooth-bore 
muskets  which  were  in  general  use  by  the  armies  at  the  opening  of  the  war. 

All  orders  from  (  ieneral   Lee  for  arms  and  ammunition  were    honored,  and   even  a 

train  load  of  ammunition  was  sent  to  Petersburg  after  the  order  was  received  for  the 
evacuation  of  Richmond. 

Probably  the  last  order  given  in  Richmond  was  issued  by  Colonel    Broun  to  the 

keeper  of  the  magazine  to  destroy  these  stores  at  5  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  April 
L3,  1865. 

The  work  of  Colonel  Broun  in  the  manufacture  of  arms  and  ordnance  stores  is 
remakable  when  we  know  that  at  the  opening  of  the  war  the  South  had  no  factories 
of  this  kind  nor  skilled  mechanics.  This  fact  being  well  understood,  ope  marvels 
how  it  was  possible  that  so  large  an  army  was  supplied  with  all  the  munitions  of 
war  during  four  years  of  the  most  stupendous  struggle  the  world  has  ever  witnessed. 

After  the  war  the  University  of  Georgia  again  caufled  Doctor  Broun  to  her  service 
as  professor  of  natural  philosophy,  and  subsequently  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
college  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts,  a  branch  of  the  university.  His  services 
in  the  university  extended  over  the  years  1 806-1875.  While  holding  this  position 
he  organized  and  engineered  the  plan  to  establish  a  State  geological  survey  and  an 
agricultural  department,  and  organized  the  State  Agricultural  College.  He  was  also 
one  of  the  leading  spirits  in  the  State  Agricultural  Society  of  Georgia,  and  took  an 
active  part  in  all  the  meetings  of  these  important  farmers'  associations.  Doctor 
Broun,  I  am  informed,  was  the  lirst  in  the  South  to  introduce  the  inspection  and 
analysis  of  commercial  fertilizers,  lie  had  this  work  done  through  the  State  Agri- 
cultural Society  by  the  chemist  of  the  State  Agricultural  College.  The  samples  were 
drawn  under  the  direction  of  the  secretary  and  analyzed  by  the  chemist  without  State 
aid  and  without  cost  to  the  farmers.  Shortly  after  this  work  was  instituted  the  State 
agricultural  department  was  established,  and  the  analysis  of  fertilizers  Mas  sanctioned 
by  law. 

in  1S75  Doctor  Broun  resigned  the  chair  in  the  University  of  Georgia  to  accept  the 
chair  of  mathematics  in  Vanderbilt  University,  in  which  position  he  remained  for 
seven  years.  In  1882  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Alabama  Polytechnic  Institute, 
which  he  held  for  one  year  and  then  resigned  to  accept  a  call  to  the  professorship  of 
mathematics  in  the  Texas  University  and  the  chairmanship  of  the  faculty.  There 
he  was  associated  with  Doctor  Mallett,  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  and  other  dis- 
tinguished teachers  who  had  been  gathered  there  from  every  part  of  the  country  by 
the  hoard  of  trustees  of  the  Texas  University.  Doctor  Broun  returned  to  the  Ala- 
bama institution  in  1884  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and 
remained  in  charge  of  the  affairs  of  that  college,  which  he  discharged  with  great 
success  and  distinction  until  his  death  in  1902. 

More  than  twenty-three  years  ago,  in  an  address  delivered  in  Alabama  before  an 
educational  gathering,  he  asserted  that  a  correct  interpretation  of  the  act  establishing 
the  agricultural  and  mechanical  colleges  would  develop  the  institutions  into  schools 
where  a  liberal  and  broad  education  could  be  obtained,  an  education  giving  skill  to 
the  hands  as  well  as  to  the  brain,  and  in  fact  yielding  to  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind 
and  body  great  powers  for  usefulness  in  developing  the  resources  of  the  country. 
He  believed  that  all  the  sciences  should  be  provided  for  in  the  courses  of  study  in 
these  colleges,  and  that  there  should  be  a  sufficient  amount  and  number  of  the  liter- 
ary topics  introduced  in  order  to  make  the  students  thoroughly  educated  and  well- 
rounded  men,  to  do  much  more  than  simply  to  lift  them  out  of  the  sphere  of  "  hewers 
of  wood  and  drawers  of  water."  In  reorganizing  the  Alabama  State  College  he 
provided  not  only  for  those  subjects  related  to  agriculture  ami  the  mechanic  arts, 
but  he  also  established  chairs  for  the  teaching  of  the  modern  languages  and  Latin, 
believing  that  it  was  in  the  mind  of  Senator  Morrill,  when  he  wrote  the  bill,  that 
the  "industrial  classes"  should  have  provided  for  them  in  these  colleges  an  educa- 
tion of  equal  value  and  dignity  to  the  education  then  furnished  by  the  best  university 
of  the  land. 

The  results  accomplished  by  this  active  and  intelligent  man  were  varied  and  valu- 


44 

able.  His  chief  work  was  as  a  teacher,  and  in  this  department  he  was  preeminently 
prominent.  The  young  men  who  received  instruction  from  him  are  to-day  in  many 
instances  occupying  distinguished  positions  in  many  walks  of  life.  He  was  a  teacher 
for  more  than  fifty  years,  and  who  can  tell  of  the  noble  influences  he  set  in  motion 
with  the  thousands  of  young  men  who  have  passed  under  his  tutorage?  He  had  a 
most  vigorous  mind,  which  was  well  stored  with  knowledge  on  many  different  sub- 
jects, and  he  was  continually  pouring  out  information  to  students  and  friends  with- 
out stint,  and  without  compensation.  He  was  a  hard  student  and  all  of  his  life  the 
word  energy  was  not  only  often  used  by  him  when  instructing  his  students,  but  it 
was  a  force  strongly  evident  in  the  development  of  his  own  life,  lie  has  often  said 
in  the  hearing  of  the  writer  that  men  were  made  to  work  and  to  work  at  all  times 
for  the  benefit  of  the  country,  in  order  that  the  community  in  which  they  live  might 
be  made  better  because  they  lived  in  it.  lie  was  well  versed  in  science,  but  he  was 
in  no  sense  a  specialist.  He  read  in  all  lines  of  literature  and  could  speak  intelligently 
on  many  subjects  which  were  of  interest  to  many  different  classes  of  men.  His 
address  before  this  honorable  body  while  presiding  in  New  Orleans  some  years  ago 
will  be  recalled  by  the  older  members  as  an  able  production,  containing  information 
of  value  concerning  the  interests  relating  to  the  work  of  the  association.  His  versa- 
tile mind,  full  of  suggestions  and  plans,  developed  the  Alabama  Polytechnic  Institute 
into  one  of  the  best  scientific  colleges  of  the  country.  Under  his  administration  the 
Alabama  institution  has  accomplished  some  notable  results.  The  work  of  this  insti- 
tution under  Doctor  Broun's  direction,  however,  is  well  known  by  the  college  and 
station  workers  over. the  United  States,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  enumerate  them  in 
this  paper. 

His  ability  to  organize  and  establish  important  interests  caused  him  to  be  sought 
after  by  parties  in  the  commercial  world,  because  his  versatile  mind  made  him  a  val- 
uable man  for  their  enterprises,  but  he  preferred  the  life  of  a  quiet  professorship  and 
devoted  his  energies  to  teaching  young  men  to  acquire  knowledge  for  the  important 
positions  in  life.  These  men  are  scattered  over  the  country  adding  to  the  wealth  of 
the  nation,  and  in  their  labors  they  are  reflecting  the  work  of  their  noble  teacher, 
for  whom  they  have  the  greatest  admiration  and  affection. 

On  the  morning  of  January  23,  1902,  while  in  apparent  good  health  and  in  the  full 
possession  of  his  faculties,  the  summons  came,  and  Doctor  Broun  in  a  moment  stepped 
from  the  stage  of  action  in  this  world.  He  died  suddenly  in  harness,  full  of  years 
and  honors,  but  with  a  mind  strong  and  vigorous  to  the  last. 

lie  has  left  a  place  in  the  ranks  not  yet  filled.  His  influence  for  usefulness  and 
the  results  of  a  long,  consistent  Christian  life  will  last  through  the  years  t3  come. 

C.  F.  Curtiss,  of  Iowa,  moved  that  as  Doctor  Gunsaulus,  who  was  selected  by  the 
committee  to  deliver  the  address  on  President  Beardshear,  was  unavoidably  absent, 
the  association  convey  to  Doctor  Gunsaulus  their  deep  regret  at  his  inability  to  be 
present,  and  request  his  manuscript  for  publication  in  the  proceedings. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to.« 

ExnnuT  at  St.  Lor  is  Exposition. 

The  following  report  of  the  committee  on  collective  college  and  station  exhibit  at 
the  St.  Louis  Exposition  was  read  by  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  W.  H.  Jordan, 
of  New  York: 

Your  committee  having  in  charge  the  exhibit  at  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Expo- 
sition, 1904,  at  St.  Louis,  of  the  progress  in  the  United  States  of  education  and 
research  in  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following 
report,  of  progress: 

The  movement  to  install  this  exhibit  was  instituted  at  the  1901  meeting  of  the 
Association  of  American  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations  in  Wash- 
ington, and  two  committees  were  appointed  to  consider  the  matter,  one  representing 
agriculture  and  the  other  mechanic  arts.  At  the  Atlanta  meeting,  in  1902,  these 
committees  reported  in  favor  of  exhibits.  The  two  committees  were  consolidated 
into  one  as  an  exposition  committee.  At  this  point  it  should  be  stated  that  early  in 
the  work  of  your  committee  it  was  found  extremely  desirable  to  call  in  for  advice 
Hon.    William  T.    Harris,    United    States  Commissioner  of   Education,   and    it    was 

o  Doctor  <  Junsaulus  subsequently  expressed  regrel  at  his  inability  to  furnish  a  paper 
in  time  for  this  publication. 


45 

agreed,  after  conference  with  him,  that  he  should  be  added  to  the  association  com- 
mittee, not  only  to  secure  his  valuable  counsel,  but  to  have  the  Bureau  of  Education 
properly  represented  on  the  committee,  and  the  approval  of  this  arrangement  was 
obtained  from  the  executive  committee  of  the  association. 

The  executive  committee  at  the  Atlanta  meeting  was  "charged  with  the  duty  of 
soliciting  from  Congress  the  sum  of  $(50,000  to  meet  the  expense  of  installing  and 
maintaining  an  exhibit  of  the  distinctive  work  of  the  land-grant  colleges  and  experi- 
ment stations." 

Because  of  the  desire  on  the  part  of  the  live-stock  interests  that  instruction  and 
research  in  animal  husbandry  should  be  more  fully  emphasized  than  could  be 
accomplished  with  the  above-named  sum,  the  executive  committee  subsequently 
decided  to  ask  Congress  for  $100,000. 

THE    ACTION    OF   CONGRESS. 

In  accordance  with  its  instructions,  the  executive  committee,  aided  by  members 
of  the  exposition  committee,  appeared  before  the  House  Committee  on  Expositions, 
of  which  Hon.  James  A.  Tawney,  of  Minnesota,  is  chairman,  and  presented  the 
wishes  of  this  association  in  support  of  a  bill  which  Mr.  Tawney  had  previously 
introduced,  and  explained  the  nature  and  scope  of  the  proposed  exhibit. 

The  substance  of  this  bill  was  finally  incorporated  in  the  sundry  civil  appropriation 
bill,  and  was  passed  with  practically  no  opposition.  It  is  eminently  fitting  that,  in 
this  connection,  your  committee  should  call  attention  to  the  able  and  earnest  efforts 
of  Mr.  Tawney  in  promoting  the  desire  of  the  association  and  make  to  him,  in  behalf 
of  the  institutions  here  represented,  most  sincere  acknowledgments  for  this  valuable 
service. 

The  text  of  the  law  governing  this  appropriation  is  as  follows: 

"Additional  Government  Exhibit:  For  the  selection,  purchase,  preparation, 
transportation,  arrangement,  installation,  safe  keeping,  exhibition,  and  return  of 
such  articles,  animals,  and  materials,  belonging  to  or  used  by  the  agricultural  colleges 
and  experiment  stations,  hereinafter  referred  to,  as  the  Government  board  created 
by  act  of  Congress  approved  March  third,  nineteen  hundred  and  one,  as  amended  by 
the  act  of  June  twenty-eighth,  nineteen  hundred  and  two,  may  decide  to  exhibit  as 
a  part  of  the  Government  exhibit,  to  show  the  progress  of  education  and  experimen- 
tation in  agriculture,  mechanic  arts,  and  animal  husbandry  at  the  Louisiana  Purchase 
Exposition,  to  be  held  under  authority  of  said  act,  of  the  colleges  of  agriculture  and 
mechanic  arts  and  agricultural  experiment  stations  receiving  the  benefits  of  the  acts 
of  Congress  of  July  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two,  March  second,  eighteen 
hundred  and  eighty-seven,  and  August  thirtieth,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety,  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  to  be  immediately  available;  which  sum  shall  be  expended 
for  that  purpose  only,  and  upon  the  authority  of  said  Government  board:  Provided, 
That  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  Company,  at  its  own  cost  and  expense,  shall 
furnish  to  said  Government  board  adequate  and  suitable  space  in  an  appropriate 
building  or  buildings  for  the  installation  of  said  exhibit  and  its  exhibition  during  the 
continuance  of  said  exposition." 

Special  points  in  the  law  to  be  noticed  are  that  the  expenditure  of  the  appropria- 
tion thus  made  is  placed  under  the  control  of  the  United  States  Government  Board 
of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition,  and  that  this  board  was  authorized  to  arrange 
with  the  colleges  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts  and  the  agricultural  experiment 
stations  for  an  "exhibit  of  the  progress  of  education  and  experimentation  in  agri- 
culture, mechanic  arts,  and  animal  husbandry."  It  is  provided  that  the  exhibit  is  to 
be  accomplished  through  the  display  of  "articles,  animals,  and  materials  belonging 
to  or  used  by  the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations."  It  is  also  specified 
that  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  Company  shall  provide,  at  its  own  cost  and 
expense,  adequate  and  suitable  space  in  appropriate  buildings  of  said  company  for 
the  installation  of  said  exhibit. 

ARRANGEMENTS  WITH  THE  GOVERNMENT  BOARD. 

In  accordance  with  these  terms,  the  chairman  and  secretary  of  your  committee 
promptly  conferred  with  the  Government  Board  and  asked  it  to  declare  its  policy 
regarding  the  management  of  the  business  connected  with  the  exhibit  of  agricultural 
colleges  and  experiment  stations  and  its  relations  to  the  committee  of  the  association. 

The  necessary  statements  as  to  the  origin,  character,  purpose,  and  plans  of  the 


40 

exhibit  were  also  filed  with  the  Government  Board.  The  Board  thereupon  appointed 
a  special  committee  on  the  exhibit  of  the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  sta- 
tions, and  instructed  it  to  confer  with  the  committee  of  the  association  and  report 
back  to  the  Board  a  plan  for  the  management  of  the  exhibit.  This  committee  con- 
sisted of  the  following  members  of  the  Board:  J.  H.  Brigham,  chairman;  E.  M. 
Dawson,  W.  II.  Michael,  G.  W.  W.  Hanger,  and  J.  B.  Brownlow. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  organization  of  the  work  the  Board  obtained  the  assent 
and  agreement  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  Company  to  the  provision  that 
this  company,  "at  its  own  cost  and  expense,  shall  furnish  to  said  Government  Board 
adequate  and  suitable  space  in  an  appropriate  building  or  buildings  for  the  installa- 
tion of  said  exhibit  and  its  exhibition  during  the  continuance  of  said  Exposition." 

After  several  conferences  of  the  special  committee  of  the  Board  and  the  represent- 
atives of  your  committee,  and  upon  recommendations  of  the  special  committee,  the 
Government  Board  from  time  to  time  authorized  the  following: 

The  official  recognition  of  your  committee  as  in  charge,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Government.  Board,  of  the  association's  exhibit;  the  appointment  of  each  member  of 
the  committee  as  a  special  agent  of  the  Board;  the  designation  of  a  member  of  your 
committee  to  represent  it  before  the  Government  Board,  who  should  also  certify  all 
vouchers  to  the  chairman  of  the  board,  Dr.  A.  C.  True  being  designated  for  these 
duties;  the  appointment  of  Mr.  James  L.  Farmer  as  chief  special  agent  of  the  Board; 
the  employment  of  the  necessary  clerical  help  and  the  purchase  of  necessary  supplies; 
the  aeceptance  of  a  general  plan  for  the  installation  of  the  exhibit  as  outlined  and 
presented  by  your  committee. 

Your  committee  desires  to  express  at  this  time  its  obligations  to  the  Government 
Board  for  the  prompt,  businesslike,  and  courteous  treatment  which  we  received  at 
its  hands. 

ARRANGEMENTS   WITH   THE   EXPOSITION    AUTHORITIES. 

On  April  7,  1903,  a  meeting  of  your  committee  was  held  at  St.  Louis  for  the  purpose 
of  conferring  with  the  officers  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  in  regard  to  the 
location  and  general  plan  of  the  exhibit.  After  a  thorough  conference,  in  which  the 
officers  of  the  Exposition  gave  to  your  committee  every  possible  consideration,  it  was 
decided  that  the  main  portion  of  the  exhibit  should  be  located  in  the  Palace  of 
Education.  It  was  also  agreed  by  the  Exposition  authorities  that  a  special  pavilion 
should  be  constructed  which  should  accommodate  an  extensive  exhibit  in  methods 
of  instruction  and  research  in  animal  husbandry.  Subsequent  conferences  and  corre- 
spondence with  the  Exposition  authorities  have  resulted  in  a  definite  location  of  the 
main  exhibit  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Palace  of  Education,  running  from 
the  corner  to  the  central  entrance  on  the  west  side.  The  total  area  of  this  space  is 
approximately  16,000  square  feet,  including  aisles.  Deducting  aisles  there  is  left 
almost  11,500  square  feet  for  actual  exhibition  space.     (Diag.  I.) 

Your  committee  deems  it  a  privilege  to  express  its  indebtedness  to  the  Exposition 
authorities  for  the  manner  in  which  it  was  received.  Our  exhibit  has  been  located 
on  what  is  perhaps  the  most  desirable  space  in  the  Palace  of  Education,  and  the 
wishes  of  your  committee,  so  far  as  possible,  have  been  met  in  every  particular. 

ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    COMMITTEE. 

At  the  St.  Louis  meeting  the  following  subcommittees  were  appointed: 

General  organization. — The  chairman,  the  secretary,  Doctor  Harris,  Doctor  Stone. 

Plant  introduction,  rural  engineering  and  rural  economics. — Professor  Hays, 
chairman;  the  secretary. 

Animal  husbandry  and  agrotechny  (inside  exhibit). — Professor  Hunt,  chairman; 
Professor  Curtiss,  Professor  Waters. 

Animal  husbandry  and  agronomy  (outside  exhibit). — Professor  Curtiss,  chairman; 
Professor  Hays,  Professor  Waters. 

Mechanic  arts.— Doctor  Stone,  chairman;  Doctor  Patterson,  Professor  Tyler. 

Assembling  and  installation. — The  chairman,  the  secretary. 

Awards  and  congresses. — The  chairman,  Doctor  Harris,  Professor  Waters. 


47 


^^)   p  o  o  o  o  o  y 


~~~:":~ 


§1 

__      1- 

^ 

* 

5| 

2fe 

Diag.  I.— Proposed  installation  plan   of  collective  college  and  station 

Exposition. 


•xhibit  at    the  St.   Louis 


48 

CLASSIFICATION    OF   THE    EXHIBIT. 
The  classification  of  the  exhibit  agreed  upon  is  as  follows: 

DEPARTMENT   OP    AGRICULTURE. 

Group  1.  Biological  sciences. 

Class  I.   Botany,  economic  zoology,  entomology,  etc. 
Group  2.  Inspection  or  control  work. 

(Mass  2.    Fertilizers,  feeding  stuffs,   foods,   dairy  glassware,    nursery   stock, 
insecticides,   etc. 
Group  3.  Plant  production. 

Class  3.  Plant  laboratory. 

Class  4.   Soils  laboratory. 

Class  5.  Fertilizers. 

Class  (i.   Field  crops  (agronomy), 

(a)  Improvement. 

(b)  Varieties. 

(c)  Culture. 

(d)  Harvesting. 

(e )  Preservation. 

Class  7.  Horticultural  plants  and  forestry. 

(a)  Improvement. 

(1))  Varieties. 

(c)  Culture. 

d)  Harvesting. 

e)  Preservation. 
(  f  )  Orchard  and  garden  management. 

Class  8.  Plant  disease. 

(a)   Control. 
Class  9.  Economic  insects. 

(a)  Control. 
Group  4.  Zootechny. 

Class  10.  Animal  husbandry. 

(a)  Types  and  breeds;  animal  form  and  animal  mechanics. 

(b)  Breeding;  laws  of  heredity. 

(c)  Animal  production;  feeding,  care,  and  management. 
Class  11.   Veterinary  science. 

(a)  Anatomy  and  physiology. 

(b)  Pathology. 

(c)  Surgery. 

(d)  Diseases. 
Group  5.   Agrotechny. 

Class  12.  Dairying. 

(a)  Milk. 

(b)  Butter. 

(c)  Cheese. 
Class  13.  Sugar  making. 

(a)  Cane. 

(b)  Beet. 

(c)  Maple. 

Class  14.   Canning,  cider  and  vinegar  making,  olive  oil,  raisins,  etc. 
Class  15.  Finished  meat  products. 

(a)  Slaughtering. 

(b)  Block  teste. 
Class  1<>.   Tobacco  manufacture. 

< iroiip  (i.    Rural  engineering. 

Class  17.  Lay-out  of  farms. 

(a)  Model  farmstead  and  crop  relations. 
Class  is.   Buildings  and  fences. 

(a)  Silos,  barns,  ventilation,  etc 
Class  19.    Water  systems. 

(a)  Power  for  pumping. 
( 'lass  20.   Irrigation. 

(a)   Experimental  system. 
Class  21.   Drainage. 

(a)  Model  of  drainage  system. 


49 

Group  6.  Rural  engineering — Continued. 
Class  22.  Sewage  system. 

(a)  Chemical  studies;  sewage  systems  for  irrigating  vegetable 
gardens,  etc. 
Class  23.   Farm  machinery. 

(a)   Development  of  machinery, 
^b)  Grading  and  planting. 
'c )  Special  machines. 
Class  24.  Roads. 

(a)  Charts  and  models  showing  principles  of  road  construc- 

tion, materials,  models,  etc. 

(b)  Stone  and  iron  culverts. 
Group  7.  Rural  economics. 

Class  25.  Farm  administration. 

(a)  Statistical  study  of  cost  of  production. 

DEPARTMENT   OF   MECHANIC   ARTS. 

Group  8.  Fundamental  subjects. 

Class  26.  Chemistry  (general). 

Class  27.  Physics  (general). 

Class  28.  Mechanics. 

Class  29.  Mathematics  (pure  and  applied). 
Group  9.  Civil  engineering. 

Class  30.  Railway  engineering. 

Class  31.  Hydraulic  engineeriiig. 

Class  32.  Municipal  and  sanitary  engineering. 

Class  33.  Surveying. 

Class  34.  Roads  and  pavements. 

Class  35.  Bridges  and  framed  structures. 
Group  10.  Mechanical  engineering. 

Class  37.  Steam  engineering. 

Class  38.  Heating  and  ventilation. 

Class  40.  Railroad  engineering. 

Class  41.  Marine  engineering. 

Class  42.  Naval  architecture. 

Class  43.  Mechanical  engineering. 

Class  — .  Strength  of  materials. 
Group  11.  Electrical  engineering. 

Class  44.  Electrical  engineering. 

Class  45.  Electric  railways. 

Class  46.  Electro-chemistry. 

Class  47.  Electric  power  transmission. 

Class  48.  Telephony. 
Group  12.  Mining  engineering. 

Class  50.  Assaying. 

Class  51.  Metallurgy. 

Class  52.  Metallography. 

Class  53.  Mine  surveying. 

Class  54.  Geology. 

Class  55.  Economic  mining  machinery. 

Class  56.  Application  of  electricity  to  mining  operations. 
Group  13.  Technical  chemistry. 

Class  58.  Application  of  chemistry  to  making  chemical  products. 

Class  59.  Analytical  chemistry. 

Class  — .  Chemical  engineering. 
Group  14.  Architecture. 

Class  60.  General  architecture. 

Class  61.  Architectural  engineering. 
Group  15.  Drawing  and  shop  practice. 

Class  63.  Shop  practice. 

Class  64.  Mechanical  drawing,  including  descriptive  geometry. 
Group  16.  Industrial  and  domestic  arts. 

Class  65.  Domestic  science. 

Class  66.  Textile  industries. 

Class  67.  Ceramics. 

Class  68.  Decorative  art. 

Class  69.  Trades. 

21736— No.  142—04 4 


50 

ALLOTMENT   OF    SPACE. 

The  following  is  the  allotment  of  space  under  this  classification: 

(.E.NEKAL. 

Square  feet. 

Bureau  of  Education 299 

Administrative  office 320 

Guards,  janitors,  etc 279 

AGRICULTURE. 

Office  of  Experiment  Stati<  >ns 299 

Biological  sciences 76 

Rural  economics 76 

Inspection 107 

Economic  entomology 153 

Plant  pathology 153 

Plant  laboratory - 306 

Horticulture 520 

Field  crops 550 

Rural  engineering 581 

Fertilizers 116 

Soil  laboratory 490 

Animal  nutrition 540 

Animal  husbandry 648 

Veterinary  medicine 405 

Sugar  laboratory 540 

Dairy 645 

MECHANIC    ARTS. 

Fundamental  subjects 153 

Drawing  and  shop  practice 612 

Mining  engineering 460 

Architecture 300 

Ceramics 130 

Domestic  science 195 

Civil  engineering 560 

Electrical  engineering 459 

Technical  chemistry 221 

Mechanical  engineering 772 

ALLOTMENT    OF    FUNDS. 

After  careful  estimates,  based  upon  experience  at  previous  expositions,  an  allotment 
of  funds  has  been  made  as  follows: 

ALLOTMENTS    APPROVED    BY    GOVERNMENT    BOARD. 

Administration $14,  000 

Preparation  and  collection,  installation,  maintenance,  and  return 54,  000 

Animal  husbandry  exhibit 22,  000 

Contingent  fund 10,  000 

Total 100,000 

ALLOTMENT   OF    FUNDS    MADE    BY    THE   COMMITTEE. 

Administration  (including  $5,000,  proportionate  share  of  (iovernment  Board 

expenses) $18,  865 

Preparation  and  collection 19,500 

Installation 22,  250 

Maintenance 9,  870 

Packing  and  return 3,  450 

Animal  husbandry  in  special  pavilion 21,  000 

Contingent  fund 5,  065 

Total 100,000 


51 

APPOINTMENT   OF   EXPERTS. 

In  order  to  secure  an  efficient  collaboration  and  preparation  of  the  various  subjects 

to  be  presented  in  the  exhibit,  its  several  divisions  have  been  assigned  to  experts,  in 
accordance  with  the  following  list: 

ASSIGNMENT   OF   EXPERTS — GENERAL. 

Relations  of  the  United  States  Government  with  education  in  agriculture  and 
mechanic  arts — Dr.  W.  T.  Harris,  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education. 

Relations  of  the  United  States  Government  with  institutions  for  research  in  agri- 
culture— Dr.  A.  C.  True,  Director  of  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture. 

•  AGRICULTURE. 

1.  Biological  sciences — Dr.  George  E.  Stone,  professor  of  botany  and  mycology  in 
the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College. 

2.  Soils  laboratory — Prof.  M.  F.  Miller,  assistant  professor  of  agronomy  in  the  Ohio 
State  University. 

3.  Inspection — Prof.  M.  A.  Scovell,  director  of  Kentucky  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station. 

4.  Fertilizers — Prof.  E.  B.  Yoorhees,  agriculturist  of  Rutgers  Scientific  School  and 
director  of  the  New  Jersey  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations. 

5.  Plant  laboratory — Dr.  Walter  H.  Evans,  botanist,  Office  of  Experiment  Stations, 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

6.  Field  crops — Mr.  J.  I.  Sehulte,  agronomist,  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture. 

7.  Horticulture  and  forestry — Prof.  Samuel  B.  Green,  professor  of  horticulture  and 
forestry  in  the  University  of  Minnesota  and  horticulturist  of  the  Minnesota  Agricul- 
tural Experiment  Station. 

8.  Plant  pathology — Prof.  F.  C.  Stewart,  botanist  of  the  New  York  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station. 

9.  Economic  entomology — Prof.  Clarence  P.  Gillette,  professor  of  zoology  and 
entomology  of  the  State  Agricultural  College  of  Colorado. 

10.  Animal  nutrition — Dr.  H.  P.  Annsby,  lecturer  on  stock  feeding  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania State  College  and  director  of  the  Pennsylvania  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station. 

11.  Animal  husbandry  class  room — Prof.  Thomas  F.  Hunt,  member  of  the  exposition 
committee,  professor  of  agronomy,  and  manager  of  the  university  farms,  Cornell 
University. 

12.  Veterinary  medicine — Dr.  David  S.  White,  professor  of  veterinary  medicine 
and  dean  of  the  College  of  Veterinary  Science  in  the  Ohio  State  University. 

13.  Dairy  laboratory — Prof.  E.  H.  Farrington,  professor  of  dairy  husbandry  in 
the  University  of  Wisconsin  and  dairy  husbandry  of  the  Wisconsin  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station. 

14.  Sugar  laboratory — Dr.  William  C.  Stubbs,  professor  of  agriculture  in  the 
Louisiana  State  University  and  director  of  the  Louisiana  Agricultural  Experiment 
Stations. 

15.  Rural  engineering — Prof.  Elwood  Mead,  professor  of  irrigation  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  California  and  chief  of  irrigation  investigations,  Office  of  Experiment 
Stations,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

16.  Rural  economies — Prof.  Fred.  W.  Card,  professor  of  horticulture  and  acting 
professor  of  agriculture  in  the  Rhode  Island  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic 
Arts. 

MECHANIC   ARTS. 

1.  Fundamental  subjects — (To  be  filled.) 

2.  Civil  engineering — Prof.  Anson  Marston,  professor  of  civil  engineering  in  the 
Iowa  State  College. 

3.  Mechanical  engineering — Prof.  W.  F.  M.  Goss,  professor  of  mechanical  engi- 
neering and  dean  of  the  schools  of  engineering,  Purdue  University. 

4.  Electrical  engineering — Prof.  Bernard  V.  Swenson,  assistant  professor  of  elec- 
trical engineering  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin. 

5.  Mining  engineering — Prof.  S.  B.  Christy,  professor  of  mining  and  metallurgy 
in  the  University  of  California. 


52 

6.  Technical  chemistry — Dr.  W.  H.  Walker,  professor  of  industrial  chemistry  in 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology. 

7.  Architecture — Prof.  W.  II.  Lawrence,  associate  professor  of  architecture  in  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology. 

8.  Shop  practice,  drawing,  etc.— Prof.  F.  Paul  Anderson,  professor  of  mechanical 
engineering,  State  College  of  Kentucky. 

9.  Domestic  science — Miss  Maude  Gilchrist,  dean  of  women's  department  of  the 
Michigan  Agricultural  College. 

10.  Ceramics — Prof.  Edward  Orton,  jr.,  professor  and  director  of  department  of 
clay  working  and  ceramics;  dean  of  College  Qf  Engineering,  Ohio  State  University. 

Upon  these  experts,  who  have  generously  consented  to  devote  so  much  time  to 
the  preparation  of  this  exhibit,  devolves  the  duty  of  arranging  the  minor  details  of 
the  subjects  placed  under  their  charge  and  of  securing  the  necessary  objects  and 
materials.  They  are  now  in  correspondence  with  various  institutions,  and  any 
information  relative  to  the  details  and  material  of  preparation  should  be  sought  of 
the  experts  having  in  charge  the  subjects  under  consideration.  These  experts  will 
be  efficiently  and  indispensably  aided  by  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  in  the 
way  of  collaborating  and  assembling  parts  of  the  exhibit  and  in  the  preparation  of 
labels. 

GENERAL    CONSIDERATIONS. 

Your  committee  desires  to  impress  most  emphatically  upon  trie  members  of  this 
association  that  this  is  a  cooperative  exhibit,  the  responsibility  for  the  success  of 
which  rests  upon  the  institutions  here  represented.  It  is  to  be  a  display  of  your 
work,  the  materials  for  which  you  must  to  some  extent  contribute  and  aid  in  pre- 
paring. It  has  at  no  time  been  expected  that  the  funds  appropriated  by  Congress 
would  be  adequate  to  the  payment  for  all  servicesand  all  materials  necessary  properly 
to  show  our  methods  and  progress  in  education  and  research.  All  the  money  has 
been  set  aside  for  the  purchase  of  materials  that  the  situation  appears  to  warrant 
and  our  deficiencies  must  be  supplemented  by  the  aid  of  individual  colleges  and 
stations. 

The  loyal  and  generous  way  in  which  so  many  institutions  have  so  far  responded 
to  requests  for  assistance  is  an  encouraging  indication  that  your  committee  will  be 
abundantly  supported  in  carrying  this  great  and  laborious  undertaking  to  a  triumphant 
conclusion.  In  all  cases  full  credit  will  be  given  to  collaborators  and  preparators  and 
to  institutions  furnishing  objects,  materials,  or  data. 

This  is  most  certainly  a  splendid  opportunity  for  impressing  upon  educators — both 
at  home  and  abroad — as  well  as  the  general  public,  that  the  work  of  the  land-grant 
colleges  and  experiment  stations  represents  one  of  the  great  educational  efforts  of 
modern  times— if  indeed  it  is  not  made  evident  that  it  is  the  chiefest  effort  of  them 
all  in  its  relations  to  human  needs  and  to  the  strength  and  progress  of  human  society. 
We  must  labor  together  to  make  this  exhibition  of  what  we  are  doing  attractive, 
dignified,  and  impressive,  and  therefore  your  committee  bespeaks  your  most  earnest, 
prompt,  and  generous  cooperation. 

It  would  not  be  proper  to  close  this  report  without  recognizing  the  helpful  and 
sympathetic  attitude  of  Hon.  James  Wilson,  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  toward  this 
effort  of  the  association,  especially  in  allowing  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  to 
supplement  in  such  a  large  measure  the  work  of  your  committee.  Hon.  J.  H.  Brig- 
bam,  Assistant  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  acting  as  chairman  of  the  Government  Board, 
has  also  given  to  the  organization  of  this  exhibit  every  needed  attention  and  aid. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

By  authority  of  the  committee,  W.  II.  Jordan,  Chairman. 

YY.  II.  Jobdan.  Mr.  President,  it  is  generally  supposed  that  the  chairman  of  a 
committee  does  a  large  part  of  the  work,  but  I  wish  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  in 
this  case  he  has  probably  done  less  than  anybody  else;  that  the  members  of  the 
committee  which  I  represent  have  individually  and  in  cooperation  done  a  large 
amount  of  work  in  getting  this  matter  into  its  present  condition.  It  is  perhaps  unnec- 
essary forme  to  say  that  we  have  found  Doctor  True,  as  a  member  of  the  committee, 
indispensable  as  an  adviser  and  as  a  helper  in  the  relation  he  sustains. 

The  report  was  accepted  and  the  committee  continued. 


53 

Designation  of  Substations  and  Trial  Stations. 

The  following  report  of  the  committee  od  designation  of  substations  and  trial 
stations  was  read  by  W.  31.  Hays,  of  Minnesota    chairman): 

Your  committee  respectfully  reports  that  none  of  the  suggestions  pending  at  the 
time  of  the  report  a  year  ago  seem  worthy  of  recommendation.  We  would  therefore 
respectfully  recommend  that  the  report  as  adopted  a  year  ago  stand  and  that  the 
committee  be  discharged. 

W.  M.  Hays, 
W.  .1.  Spellman, 

Com  in  ill.  I  . 

The  report  was  accepted  and  the  committee  discharged. 

Pure  Food  Legislation. 

The  following  report  of  the  committee  on  pure  food  legislation  was  read  by  W.  A. 
Withers,  of  North  Carolina  |  chairman) : 

Your  committee  upon  pure  food  legislation  wishes  to  report  that  much  progress 
has  been  made  during  the  year  toward  the  securing  of  purer  food  products  for  the 
American  people. 

Two  States  have  been  added  to  the  list  of  those  which  have  established  bureaus 
for  the  control  of  food  products,  and  the  importance  of  the  subject  has  been  felt  in 
other  States  in  which  legislation  has  been  proposed  but  not  yet  enacted. 

The  most  important  legislation  of  the  year,  however,  is  embraced  in  the  following 
excerpt  from  the  act  making  appropriations  for  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
(Public— No.  158),  approved  March  3,  1903: 

"To  investigate  the  adulteration  of  foods,  drugs,  and  liquors,  when  deemed  by  the 
Secretary  of  Agriculture  advisable;  and  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  whenever  he 
has  reason  to  believe  that  articles  are  being  imported  from  foreign  countries  which 
by  reason  of  such  adulteration  are  dangerous  to  the  health  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  or  which  are  forbidden  to  be  Bold  or  restricted  in  sale  in  thecountries  in  which 
they  are  made  or  from  which  they  are  exported,  or  which  shall  be  falsely  labeled  in 
any  respect  in  regard  to  the  place  of  manufacture  or  the  contents  of  the  package,  shall 
make  a  request  upon  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  samples  from  original  pack- 
ages of  such  articles  for  inspection  and  analysis;  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
is  hereby  authorized  to  open  such  original  packages  and  deliver  specimens  to  the 
Secretary  of  Agriculture  for  the  purpose  mentioned,  giving  notice  to  the  owner  or 
consignee  of  such  articles,  who  maybe  present  and  have  the  right  to  introduce  testi- 
mony; and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  refuse  delivery  to  the  consignee  of  any 
such  goods  which  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  reports  to  him  have  been  inspected 
and  analyzed  and  found  to  be  dangerous  to  health,  or  which  are  forbidden  to  be  sold 
or  restricted  in  sale  in  the  countries  in  which  they  are  made  or  from  which  they  are 
exported,  or  which  shall  be  falsely  labeled  in  any  respect  in  regard  to  the  place  of 
manufacture  or  the  contents  of  the  package. 

"To  enable  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  to  investigate  the  character  of  food  pre- 
servatives, coloring  matters,  and  other  substances  added  to  foods,  to  determine  their 
relation  to  digestion  and  to  health,  and  to  establish  the  principles  which  should  guide 
their  use;  to  enable  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  to  investigate  the  character  of  the 
chemical  and  physical  tests  which  are  applied  to  American  food  products  in  foreign 
countries,  and  to  inspect  before  shipment,  when  desired  by. the  shippers  or  owners 
of  these  food  products,  American  food  products  intended  for  countries  where  chemical 
and  physical  tests  are  required  before  said  food  products  are  allowed  to  be  sold  in  the 
countries  mentioned,  and  for  all  necessary  expenses  connected  with  such  inspection 
and  studies  of  methods  of  analysis  in  foreign  countries;  to  enable  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture,  in  collaboration  with  the  Association  of  Official  Agricultural  Chemists, 
and  such  other  experts  as  he  may  deem  necessary,  to  establish  standards  of  purity 
for  food  products  and  to  determine  what  are  regarded  as  adulterations  therein,  for 
the  guidance  of  the  officials  of  the  various  States  and  of  the  courts  of  justice/' 

In  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  the  preparation  of  standards  of 
purity  for  various  food  products  is  in  progress,  investigations  relating  to  the  effect 
upon  health  of  added  preservative,  coloring  matter,  etc.,  have  began  and  the  inspec- 
tion of  imported  foods  is  in  active  operation.  The  daily  imports  are  about  200  car- 
goes, 150  of  which  from  their  nature  are  not  liable  to  be  adulterated.  Of  the  remain- 
ing 50  cargoes,  10  a  day  are  inspected  and  about  10  per  cent  of  them  are  found  to  be 
improperly  labeled  or  prepared  otherwise  contrary  to  law.     The  Secretary  of  Agri- 


54 

culture  has  asked  Congress  for  an  additional  appropriation  of  $25,000,  so  that  he  can 
have  a  force  adequate  to  inspect  all  suspected  cargoes.  This  national  control  of  food 
products  is  a  portion  of  the  duties  of  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  under  the  general 
direction  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

This  national  inspection  confirms  the  work  of  the  different  States  in  showing  the 
great  extent  to  which  food  adulteration  is  practiced,  and  the  consequent  necessity 
for  enlarging  its  scope  so  as  to  include  all  suspected  products. 

The  national  pure-food  bill  was  passed  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  by  a 
close  vote  of  32  to  28  the  Senate,  ou  March  3, 1903,  determined  to  consider  it,  although 
it  had  passed  a  previous  Senate  in  substantially  the  same  form. 

The  committee  wishes  to  congratulate  this  association  as  well  as  the  food  manu- 
facturer and  consumer  upon  the  progress  which  has  been  made  toward  a  national 
iaw  which  shall  supplement  the  work  of  the  States  and  upon  the  growth  of  public 
sentiment  in  this  direction,  and  would  respectfully  recommend  that  the  association 
continue  its  support  of  the  cause. 

Very  respectfully,  \Y.  A.  Withers, 

H.  J.  Patterson, 
H.  J.  Wheeler, 
Wm.  Frear, 

Commit tc< . 

The  report  was  received  and  placed  on  file. 

Military  Instruction  int  Land-Grant  Colleges. 

On  call  for  the  report  of  the  committee  on  military  instruction  in  land-grant 
colleges,  (i.  W.  Atherton,  of  Pennsylvania  (chairman),  said:  Mr.  President,  until  I 
received  the  printed  programme  I  had  no  intimation  that  this  report  would  be  called 
for  or  expected.  I  considered  that  the  one  duty  which  we  had  imposed  upon  us  last 
year  at  Atlanta  had  been  discharged  by  the  circular  report  made  to  all  the  land-grant 
institutions.  Stated  briefly,  the  situation  is  this:  An  order  (No.  94)  has  been  issued 
by  the  War  Department  calling  upon  the  colleges  to  increase  the  amount  of  military 
instruction  in  various  ways.  The  order  was  issued  to  the  officers  detailed  from 
the  War  Department,  one  purpose  of  the  order  evidently  being  to  furnish  a  little 
more  liberal  training  for  the  officers  themselves.  The  detail  which  was  raised  by 
slow  pressure  from  three  years  to  four  has  now  been  reduced  to  two  years,  with  the 
idea  apparently  (of  course,  I  am  not  trying  to  interpret  the  motives  of  the  Depart- 
ment) of  giving  as  many  officers  as  possible  a  chance  at  this  detail,  because  the  War 
Department  distinctly  recognizes  that  one  of  the  most  valuable  branches  of  the  train- 
ing of  the  younger  officers  is  the  course  of  detail  at  these  institutions.  Now,  while 
that  may  be  just  to  the  officers,  it  is  extremely  hard  on  the  institutions.  Some  of 
the  officers,  especially  the  younger  officers,  come  to  the  college  with  an  impression 
that  they  have  been  sent  to  take  command  of  the  institution.  It  requires  some  little 
time  and  something  approaching  a  court-martial  to  get  their  ideas  properly  adjusted 
to  their  environment,  although  in  the  case  of  a  sensible  man  there  is  really  no  great 
difficulty  in  this  respect.  Then  in  a  little  while  another  detail  is  made,  and  the 
process  of  adjustment  is  repeated,  sometimes  successfully  and  sometimes  otherwise. 

The  report  I  have  to  submit  is  briefly  this:  We  all  thought  at  Atlanta  last  year  that 
it  was  necessary  to  get  a  good  understanding  with  the  War  Department.  The  com- 
mittee was  asked  to  call  upon  the  officers  of  that  Department  to  ascertain  whether 
some  modification  of  its  order  might  not  be  made.  This  was  done  and  it  was  found 
that  the  administration  of  the  order  was  in  the  hands  of  the  War  College;  that  the 
order  had  been  drafted  in  consultation  with  the  Secretary  of  War;  that  it  had  been 
given  upon  his  personal  authority,  so  that  he  would  be  unwilling  to  modify  it  so  far 
as  its  general  terms  were  concerned;  but  that  the  details  had  been  arranged  in  con- 
sultation with  the  officers  who  had  been  detailed,  as  well  as  the  institutions  concerned, 
and  with  the  War  College.  The  officers  temporarily  in  charge  of  the  War  College 
did  not    feel  authorized  to  make  any  modification  in  the  letter  or  the  interpretation 


55 

of  the  order.  They  were  especially  insistent  upon  the  idea  that  the  Secretary  of  War 
would  not  he  willing  to  make  any  modification,  because  he  had  given  so  much 
attention  to  the  matter. 

I  have  often  wished  in  the  course  of  these  years  that  I  have  been  connected  with 
this  committee  that  the  Secretary  of  War  would  consult  us  in  advance,  and  I  think* 
we  might  well  be  consulted  before  orders  are  issued.  This  order  was  made  without 
any  previous  consultation  with  the  institutions  concerned.  It  seems  to  me,  as  we 
come  in  contact  with  the  War  Department,  we  ought  to  impress  upon  it  the  idea  that, 
while  we  are  in  thorough  cooperation  with  the  purposes  of  the  Department  in  gen- 
eral, our  interests  are  not  respected  as  perfectly  as  they  seem  to  suppose,  and 
therefore  a  little  previous  consultation  would  save,  if  not  friction,  some  hardship  at 
certain  points. 

On  the  occasion  to  which  I  have  referred  we  found  the  officers  were  insistent 
upon  a  literal  interpretation  of  the  order,  but  on  the  other  hand  they  were  very 
willing  that  the  interpretation  should  be  made  as  elastic  as  the  circumstances  of  the 
different  institutions  required.  It  was  difficult  to  get  any  concession  further  than 
that;  but  the  substance  of  the  suggestion  wereceived  was  that,  while  they  did  not 
feel  willing  to  yield  anything  in  form,  they  were  willing  to  yield  all  that  was  neces- 
sary in  substance.  We  met,  as  a  representative  of  the  Department,  an  officer  who 
has  had  active  military  service  during  the  Spanish  war,  who  is  a  thorough  soldier  in 
all  his  instincts  and  training,  and  at  the  same  time  a  stickler  for  the  literal  inter- 
pretation and  application  of  his  orders.  Yet,  going  over  this  whole  field  with  him 
as  we  did,  and  with  his  purpose  distinctly  stated  to  carry  out  the  orders  of  the  War 
Department  just  as  far  as  circumstances  would  allow,  we  had  absolutely  no  difficulty 
in  fulfilling  the  requirements  of  the  War  Department  according  to  his  understanding. 

The  order  of  the  War  Department  is  likely  to  stand;  there  is  no  likelihood  of 
securing  any  important  modification  or  relaxation  of  it,  but  with  good  sense  and 
patience,  with  due  consideration  of  the  circumstances  of  each  institution,  and  with 
a  thoroughly  loyal  purpose  to  carry  out  the  object  of  the  law,  so  far  as  circumstances 
will  allow,  there  is  not  likely  to  be  any  friction  with  the  War  Department,  or,  if 
there  is,  a  personal  visit  to  the  Department,  either  by  the  committee  or  some  of  its 
members,  or  by  a  Senator  or  Representative  in  their  behalf,  will  secure  a  fair  and 
considerate  statement  of  the  situation  in  every  case — certainly  in  ninety-nine  out  of 
a  hundred — and  relieve  all  possible  cause  of  complaint  on  our  side. 

I  do  not  think,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  the  committee  needs  to  be  continued,  and  I 
should  like  to  move  that  it  be  discharged. 

The  motion  of  Mr.  Atherton  was  seconded. 

E.  A.  Bryan,  of  Washington.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  opposed  to  the  discharge  of  the 
committee;  I  should  be  glad  to  see  it  continued,  and  I  should  be  glad  to  see  some 
improvement  in  the  condition  of  military  instruction  in  this  country  as  a  result  of 
the  action  of  this  association  and  this  committee. 

The  system  of  military  education  in  the  land-grant  colleges  has  now  been  in  oper- 
ation for  forty  years;  in  all  that  length  of  time  it  has  made  no  advancement.  If  this 
class  of  instruction  is  to  be  a  part  of  the  recognized  military  instruction  of  the  United 
States,  there  should  undoubtedly  be  a  great  deal  of  improvement  in  the  conditions 
now  prevailing.  If  it  is  not  to  be  a  part  of  the  system  of  military  instruction  of  the 
United  States,  then  I  think  it  would  be  well  that  some  change  should  be  made.  I 
think  that  this  committee  ought  to  be  continued  and  we  should  look  forward  to 
some  change. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  has  been  less  attention  given  on  the  part  of  Congress  to 
the  military  instruction  in  the  land-grant  colleges  than  there  has  been  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  National  Guard  in  the  several  States;  yet  the  amount  of  instruction  in  any 
given  year  to  any  given  set  of  men  has  been  twenty  times  as  great  in  the  land-grant 
colleges  as  in  the  National  Guard. 


56 

No  provision  is  made  for  armories  for  the  land-grant  colleges,  and  no  provision  for 
uniforms  for  the  cadets.  Very  inadequate  provision  is  made  for  instruction,  so  far  as 
my  observation  goes.  This  line  of  instruction  may  have  had  a  good  end  in  view  at 
the  beginning,  and  a  good  end  might  be  subserved  by  it  under  proper  conditions. 
But  I  think  there  should  be  a  modification  of  the  existing  system,  and  1  should  be 
very  glad  to  receive  from  this  committee  a  review  of  the  whole  question  of  military 
instruction  so  far  as  the  land-grant  colleges  are  concerned.  Such  a  review  will  not 
be  given,  of  course,  if  the  committee  is  discharged. 

W.  E.  Stone,  of  Indiana.  Mr.  Chairman.  1  approve  heartily  the  plane  which  seem 
to  have  been  in  the  mind  of  the  War  Department.  1  am  heartily  in  favor  of  military 
instruction  in  these  colleges.  But  with  this  sympathy  with  the  system  of  instruction, 
I  find  it  impossible  at  our  institution  to  conform  to  General  Orders  No.  94.  I  think 
that  probably  the  same  difficulty  exists  in  most  of  the  land-grant  colleges. 

I  have  sought  instructions  from  the  War  Department  and  have  received  only 
orders  of  a  kind  which  seem  to  disregard  the  conditions  in  the  institution.  1  do  not 
understand  that  the  War  Department  is  authorized  legally  to  issue  orders  to  the  land- 
grant  colleges. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  situation  is  one  which  is  fraught  with  very  great  possibili- 
ties of  friction  and  misunderstanding.  I  do  not  like  to  be  placed  in  the  position  of 
disregarding  the  law,  but  I  am  in  the  position  of  not  being  able  to  carry  out  the  pro- 
visions of  General  Orders  No.  94.  Under  these  circumstances  it  seems  to  me  highly 
important — fori  take  it  that  the  condition  in  our  institution  is  not  much  different 
from  that  in  most  of  the  institutions — that  this  association  should  take  steps  to  confer 
with  the  War  Department,  so  as  to  secure  a  better  understanding  on  both  sides.  I 
should  like  to  see  this  accomplished  either  by  the  continuance  of  this  committee  or 
by  the  adoption  of  resolutions  by  this  association,  or  in  some  way  bringing  to  the 
attention  of  the  War  Department  the  fact  that,  no  matter  how  much  we  strive  to 
meet  its  wishes,  we  are  unable  at  present  to  do  so,  because  of  its  apparent  disregard 
of  the  local  conditions. 

E.  B.  Andrews,  of  Nebraska.  It  seems  to  me  it  can  hardly  be  the  proper  thing  Sor 
this  association  to  permit  itself  to  drift  in  this  important  matter.  There  is  evidently 
a  feeling  on  the  part  of  all  the  colleges  here  represented  that  the  War  Department 
orders  No.  94  are  severe  and  drastic.  We  have  been  making  for  the  last  year  what 
I  may  call  an  heroic  effort  to  live  up  to  those  orders.  I  think  the  Secretary  of  War 
himself  will  say  that  we  have  done  fairly  well  in  this  respect.  But  there  is  a  feeling 
throughout  the  faculties  of  our  colleges  that  the  time  and  strength  given  to  this  work 
are  too  great  relatively  for  the  best  interests  of  their  institutions.  Such  is  emphat- 
ically my  feeling,  although  perhaps  1  have  as  much  sympathy  with  the  purposes 
of  the  order  referred  to  as  has  any  man  in  this  association.  I  feel  that  it  is  in  the 
highest  degree  desirable  that,  if  the  order  is  thought  to  be  too  drastic,  an  effort 
should  be  made  to  secure  a  modification  of  the  order.  However  much  the  present 
Secretary  of  War  might  dislike  to  modify  it,  he  would  perhaps,  upon  proper  report, 
be  willing  to  do  so.  I  wish  the  order  might  be  put  in  such  a  shape  that  we  could 
all  cordially  cooperate  in  putting  it  into  successful  operation, 

I  therefore  hope  that  some  of  these  gentlemen  who  have  spoken  on  the  point  will 
draft  a  resolution,  to  be  brought  before  the  association  in  the  course  of  its  sessions,  to 
have  the  matter  further  attended  to  by  the  continuance,  as  I  think  would  be  proper, 
of  the  committee.  This  committee,  which  has  already  been  in  communication  with 
the  War  Department,  would  probably  do  the  work  better  than  any  new  body  of  gen- 
tlemen that  mighl  be  appointed.  If  no  one  else  offers  such  a  resolution  to  the  asso- 
ciation, I  propose  to  do  it  myself. 

C.  W.  DABNDY,  of  Tennessee.  I  fully  sympathize  with  all  that  has  been  said  on  this 
subject.  The  committee  makes  a  very  modest  report.  I  think  the  members  of  it  have 
done  everything  they  possibly  could  under  the  circumstances.      Yet  their  proposition, 


57 

as  some  of  us  look  at  it,  does  Dot  meet  the  requirements  of  the  situation.  It  will  not 
do,  it  seems  to  me,  to  allow  this  matter  to  rest  at  the  present  stage. 

There  must  be  some  accommodation  between  the  work  of  the  colleges  and  the 
wishes  of  the  War  Department.  We  believe  that  such  an  accommodation  can  be 
reached  by  proper  conference.  These  orders  of  the  War  Department  have  been 
drawn  up  without  consultation  with  us,  and  I  must  say  that  they  are  impossible  of 
execution  by  our  institutions  as  at  present  organized.  We  can  not  carry  out  those 
orders  as  thoroughly  as  we  would  like  to  do,  and  the  matter  rests  upon  our  consciences. 

There  is  another  matter  I  should  like  to  refer  to,  that  is  the  attitude  of  the  War 
Department  toward  this  whole  matter  in  the  colleges.  They  send  an  officer  and 
order  him  to  do  certain  things;  then  they  drop  the  whole  business  and  expect  us  to 
carry  it  out.  Now,  no  military  post  could  be  carried  on  in  that  way.  We  need  a 
great  deal  more  than  they  give  us.  If  the  Department  expects  to  train  young 
officers  in  our  colleges  and  to  train  the  material  for  a  citizen  soldiery,  it  should  sup- 
ply us  with  a  great  many  more  things  than  we  now  receive  from  the  Department. 
We  want  armories,  we  want  furniture,  we  want  equipment;  we  want  to  have  another 
noncommissioned  officer,  at  least;  and  the  Department  ought  t  i  supply  uniforms  for 
our  young  men.  The  young  men  in  the  land-grant  colleges  are  ready  to  give  up  a 
considerable  part  of  their  time  in  order  to  take  this  instruction,  and  it  is  proper  that 
the  War  Department  should  do  something  more  for  them  than  at  present. 

I  concur  mostly  heartily  in  the  motion  that  the  committee  be  continued,  and  I 
would  like  to  add  the  suggestion  that  the  committee  try  to  secure  proper  equipments 
and  the  appointment  of  some  officer  to  help  carry  out  this  work. 

E.  A.  Bkyan.  It  seems  to  me  apparent  from  the  remarks  which  have  been  made  here 
that  General  Orders  No.  94  is  impossible  of  execution,  but  beyond  that,  there  is  the  fact 
that  the  Department  has  no  right  in  any  sense  whatever  to  issue  orders  to  the  land- 
grant  colleges.  While  in  form  it  is  not  the  issue  of  such  an  order,  it  in  reality  amounts 
to  that.  The  Department  has  of  course  the  right  to  issue  an  order  to  an  officer  of 
tlie  Army.  The  Department  details  an  officer  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  order,  and 
this  amounts  simply  to  the  issue  of  an  order  direct  to  an  institution  over  which  the 
Department  has  no  direct  control  and  should  assume  no  such  control.  We  are 
expected  t>>  carry  out  a  system  of  tilings  which  can  not  be  carried  out.  This,  I  sub- 
mit, ought  to  be  made  clear  by  the  committee  to  the  War  Department — that,  if  this 
system  is  to  be  made  a  successful  part  of  the  military  education  of  the  country,  much 
more  should  be  done  in  order  to  make  it  successful.  In  all  these  forty  years  there 
has  been  only  one  year  in  which  the  true  position  of  these  institutions  has  been  rec- 
ognized; that  was  the  year  1898,  when  President  McKinley  made  it  possible  for  some 
of  the  graduates  of  these  institutions  to  pass  an  examination  for  the  Regular  Army. 
I  feel  confident  that  it  will  meet  with  the  approval  of  gentlemen  here  when  I  say  that 
something  further  should  be  done  either  to  abolish  this  system  or  to  make  it  worthy 
of  the  colleges  and  of  the  nation. 

G.  T.  Winston,  of  N<  >rth  Carolina.  I  desire  t<  >  express  my  accord  with  the  sentiment 
which  I  know  exists  in  tins  association  in  favor  of  carrying  on  the  military  instruc- 
tion required  by  the  Government  in  the  order  which  has  been  referred  to  to  as  large 
an  extent  as  it  is  possible  to  do  s<>. 

I  think  it  clear  that  when  the  act  under  which  these  institutions  were  organized 
prescribed  certain  studies  to  be  pursued  and  then  specifically  said"  "including  mili- 
tary instruction,"  the  act  intended  that,  whatever  else  might  be  omitted,  military 
instruction  should  not  be.  I  will  not  take  time  in  dwelling  upon  that  point;  I 
simply  remark  that  the  act  singles  out  military  instruction  as  especially  to  be 
included  in  the  curriculum  of  these  institutions.  I  think  it  will  be  conce<led  that 
the  National  Government  in  that  act  intended  that  an  important  part  of  the  work  of 
these  colleges  should  be  the  training  of  a  select  body  of  young  men  along  military 
lines,  so  that  if  circumstances  should  demand  it  they  might  serve  their  country  as 


58 

officers  in  time  of  war.  For  the  carrying  out  of  this  purpose  considerable  machinery- 
has  been  provided.  Army  officers  are  detailed  for  this  instruction  and,  when  they 
are  lacking,  naval  officers  are  detailed.  These  officers  are  paid  by  the  Government. 
Arms  and  equipments  are  furnished.  There  can  be  no  doubt  in  my  mind  as  to  the 
intent. 

Similarly,  there  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  as  to  the  advisability  of  this  requirement. 
I  think  this  is  one  of  the  best  features  of  the  act  and  that  the  wisdom  and  patriotism 
of  this  provision  are  as  evident  as  in  the  provision  for  industrial  instruction. 

I  desire  to  say  also  that  where  this  military  instruction  is  given  by  the  officers  and 
received  by  the  students  with  pride  and  enthusiasm,  there  is  afforded  to  the  institu- 
tion an  element  of  great  strength.  Speaking  from  my  own  experience,  I  would  not 
consent  to  part  with  any  single  portion  of  the  military  instruction  that  is  given  in 
the  college  over  which  I  have  the  honor  to  preside.  I  am  now  seeking  to  obtain  from 
the  Government  here  in  Washington  equipments  for  more  extended  military  instruc- 
tion than  we  are  now  giving.  I  consider  that  this  larger  military  instruction  will  be 
a  benefit  to  the  institution  not  merely  along  military  lines,  but  along  other  lines.  By 
means  of  this  sort  of  education  we  have  among  the  students  a  spirit  of  self-control,  a 
buoyancy,  an  enthusiasm,  a  manliness  of  bearing,  a  spirit  of  decorum,  an  esprit  du 
corps  which  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  secure  in  this  institution  by  any  other 
means  than  by  the  military  system. 

I  do  not  believe  there  wiM  be  any  great  difficulty  in  dealing  with  this  question  if 
we  recognize  the  intention  of  the  framers  of  this  act  and  the  purpose  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  these  colleges  to  have  been  in  no  small  degree  the  giving  of  military 
instruction  in  the  same  spirit  that  we  give  industrial  instruction.  I  believe  we 
should  endeavor  to  carry  out  this  as  a  clear  purpose  of  these  institutions.  I  know 
of  institutions  where  it  is  not  carried  out  at  all,  except  formally.  Of  course  it  ought 
to  be  required  to  be  carried  out;  it  ought  to  be  a  part  of  the  prescribed  course  of 
instruction.  Who  is  competent  to  prescribe  it?  If  we  should  undertake  to  set  up 
ourselves  as  competent  to  help  drill  soldiers  or  to  set  forth  the  kind  of  military 
instruction  which  is  to  be  given  in  our  institutions,  our  position  would  not  be  tenable 
for  a  moment;  the  Government  would  not  listen  to  our  pretensions  and  ought  not 
to  do  ho. 

The  War  Department  represents  the  military  authorities  of  the  country,  who 
have  the  skill  and  experience,  who  know  what  is  needed  for  the  military  service, 
and  we  should  endeavor  to  do  what  they  want.  If  the  military  authorities  should 
undertake  to  direct  us  along  scientific  lines,  that  would  be  an  entirely  different 
proposition,  but  the  War  Department  does  not  undertake  any  such  thing. 

I  hope  the  impression  will  not  get  abroad  that  anybody  in  this  association  is  trying 
to  minimize  the  military  instruction  as  a  part  of  our  agricultural  college  course.  I  do 
not  believe  that  sentiment  prevails  here  by  any  means.  I  believe  that  an  honest, 
efficient,  and  thorough  carrying  out  of  the' military  requirements  of  the  law  will  be 
very  beneficial  to  these  institutions. 

I  know  that  it  will  be  very  difficult  to  do  this  in  institutions  where  the  agricul- 
tural college  is  but  a  small  portion  of  a  larger  institution.  It  will  be  well-nigh  impos- 
sible for  some  of  such  institutions  to  carry  out  these  requirements.  That  is  one  of 
the  difficulties  that  we  have  to  contend  with.  But  military  requirements  must  not 
be  thrust  out  of  the  way  because  of  such  difficulty.  The  difficulty  should  be  met 
and  met  honestly.  Where  there  is  no  such  fusion  of  the  agricultural  college  into  a 
great  university,  then  no  such  difficulties  exist. 

At  our  college  we  have  a  special  department  for  preparing  men  for  the  cotton 
industry;  we  also  have  a  special  line  of  instruction  in  machinery,  in  which  students 
spend  their  time  Largely  in  machine  work.  It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  young  men 
of  that  sort  might  not  care  to  be  troubled  with  military  drill,  for  some  of  them  take 
only  a  six  months'  course.     Naturally  they  would  not  care  to  spend  any  part  of  their 


59 

short  term  under  military  instruction  or  to  bear  the  expense  of  uniforms.  Recog- 
nizing that  they  can  not  be  made  officers  or  soldiers  within  such  a  short  period,  we 
excuse  them  from  military  instruction.  But  four-fifths  even  of  those  young  men 
apply  for  and  receive  permission  to  enter  the  battalion;  they  do  so  voluntarily.  I 
mention  this  as  convincing  evidence,  in  my  mind,  of  the  merits  of  the  military  sys- 
tem— that  the  young  men  coming  to  our  institution  for  the  purpose  of  taking  only  a 
six  months'  course,  with  a  view  to  engaging  in  the  cotton  industry  or  entering  the 
machine  shops,  are  willing  to  go  to  the  expense  of  providing  their  uniforms  in  order 
to  take  this  military  course,  when  they  might  be  excused. 

I  hope  that  we  shall  carry  out  the  order  of  the  "War  Department — those  of  us  who 
can  carry  it  out — to  the  fullest  extent,  and  that  those  who  can  not  carry  it  out  to  the 
fullest  extent  will  do  the  best  they  can  in  that  direction.  I  hope  that  we  shall  ask 
the  Government  for  additional  facilities  for  military  instruction  instead  of  asking 
that  some  of  the  present  requirements  be  withdrawn. 

Let  us  ask  the  War  Department  to  make  a  further  supply  of  arms  and  equipments 
so  as  to  carry  out  to  the  fullest  extent  this  great  purpose  of  the  National  Government 
to  train  y<  rang  men  all  over  the  land  to  be  ready  in  time  of  national  danger  to  help 
defend  their  country  as  officers  and  as  drillmasters.  Such  service  is  one  of  our 
greatest  privileges  and  duties,  and  I  hope  we  shall  do  what  we  can  toward  that  end. 

D.  F.  Houston,  of  Texas.  Personally,  on  general  principles,  I  am  opposed  to  mili- 
tary government  in  college  work.  I  do  not  believe,  however,  that  this  is  a  matter 
to  be  discussed  on  general  principles.  I  believe  that  a  moral  duty  rests  upon  every 
land-grant  college  to  furnish  instruction  in  military  science.  Personally  I  have  felt 
opposed  to  doing  or  attempting  to  do  anything  in  college  work  that  we  can  not  do 
efficiently.  I  do  not  see  how  it  is  possible  to  give  efficient  military  instruction  in 
our  land-grant  colleges,  if  we  attempt  to  do  substantially  less  than  what  the  War 
Department  requires.  I  believe,  therefore,  it  is  our  duty  to  attempt  to  carry  out  this 
order  of  the  Department  and  to  give  substantially  as  much  instruction  as  that  order 
requires. 

There  seem  to  be,  Mr.  President,  two  antagonistic  suggestions  here.  One  is  that 
this  committee  should  continue  to  endeavor  to  induce  the  War  Department  to  change 
or  modify  the  requirements;  the  other  is  that  we  should  endeavor  to  get  the  War 
Department  to  give  the  colleges  still  further  aid  in  carrying  out  a  course  of  military 
instruction.  }sow,  it  certainly  would  be  exceedingly  unwise,  in  my  judgment,  to 
ask  the  Government  to  reduce  its  requirements  and  at  the  same  time  ask  it  to  give 
more  in  the  way  of  military  supplies  than  it  is  now  furnishing. 

For  a  great  many  years  many  of  the  colleges  have  complied  in  only  a  very  meager 
way  with  the  requirement  that  they  shall  teach  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts. 
They  are  now  teaching  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  more  or  less  efficiently;  but 
very  few  of  them  are  giving  efficient  military  instruction.  It  has  been  a  wonder  to 
me  that  a  movement  has  not  been  made  to  withdraw  support  from  some  of  these  col- 
leges on  both  these  grounds.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  the  part  of  wisdom  to  comply  as 
fully  as  possible  with  the  military  requirements,  as  the  best  colleges  are  now  com- 
plying with  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  requirements. 

I  hope,  therefore,  that  this  committee  will  not  be  requested  to  ask  the  War  Depart- 
ment to  modify  materially  the  orders  which  have  been  referred  to,  but  that  the 
committee  may  request  the  War  Department  to  give  us  help  in  carrying  out  those 
orders. 

I  fully  recognize  the  difficulty  experienced  by  institutions  which  have  the  agricul- 
tural and  mechanical  features  in  combination  with  the  regular  university  features. 
I  realize  the  great  difficulty  of  carrying  out  these  orders  of  the  War  Department  in 
such  institutions.  I  do  not  see  just  how  they  can  meet  the  problem.  But  I  do  know 
that  agricultural  colleges  which  are  isolated  can  carry  out  these  orders  efficiently:  I 
know  several  that  are  now  doing  it. 


60 

(;.  \\\  Athebton.  Tn  regard  to  one  suggestion  which  President  Winston  empha- 
sized, I  wish  to  say  that  neither  the  committee  nor  anyone  connected  with  our 
institutions  has  presented  to  the  War  Department  any  thought  of  trying  to  belittle 
the  work  of  the  military  department;  the  idea  has  simply  been  that  the  order  of  the 
Department  as  it  stands  is  impossible  of  execution.  It  needs  modification,  and 
therefore  it  was  suggested  that  modification  should  be  made  upon  consultation  with 
the  officers  of  the  Department. 

The  report  was  received  and  the  committee  continued.  (For  further  discussion  of 
this  subject  see  p.  86). 

Amendment  of  Tm«:  Constitution. 

The  question  of  constitutional  amendment  being  laid  before  the  convention,  C.  E. 
Thorne,  of  <  >hio,  moved  that  the  whole  matter  be  laid  on  the  table,  because  he  con- 
sidered the  present  constitution  satisfactory  and  regretted  to  see  so  much  invaluable 
time  frittered  away  upon  these  matters  of  detail  when  it  was  needed  for  the  purpose 
of  discussing  questions  of  greater  importance  to  the  work  of  the  association. 

<  i.  W.  Athebton,  of  Pennsylvania.  It  is  true,  as  Professor  Thorne  has  said,  that  a 
great  deal  of  time  has  been  spent  on  this  subject.  But  there  has  been  very  strong 
dissatisfaction  with  some  features  of  our  organization  as  it  stood,  and  last  year  at 
Atlanta,  after  a  very  full  comparison  of  views,  in  a  perfectly  cordial  and  fraternal 
spirit,  certain  amendments  were  agreed  upon  in  form.  The  amendments  which  now 
come  up  represented  the  best  judgment  of  all  parties  concerned  after  a  very  careful 
review  of  the  whole  situation.  I  have  no  doubt  that,  if  the  question  could  have  been 
put  to  a  final  vote  of  the  convention  last  year,  these  amendments  would  have  been 
unanimously  adopted.  I  have  had  no  other  thought  than  that  when  presented  at 
this  convention  they  would  be  unanimously  adopted  as  expressing  the  mature  judg- 
ment of  this  body.  I  think  there  would  be  serious  disappointment  in  many  quarters 
if  the  understanding  reached  last  year  in  absolute  good  faith  should  not  now  be 
carried  out.  The  motion  of  Professor  Thorne,  as  I  understand,  has  not  been  sec- 
onded. In  order  to  bring  this  whole  matter  up  and  expedite  action  upon  it,  I  move 
that  the  proposed  amendments  of  the  constitution  be  adopted  as  a  whole  and  referred 
to  the  executive  committee  to  be  incorporated  into  the  present  constitution. 

The  motion  of  Mr.  Atherton  was  seconded  and  agreed  to;  yeas,  53;  nays,  1. 

The  proposed  amendments  were  as  follows: 

(1)  The  association  shall  be  divided  into  two  sections:  (a)  A  section  on  college 
work  and  administration,  (1>)  a  section  on  experiment  station  work.  The  section  on 
college  work  and  administration  shall  be  composed  of  the  presidents  or  acting  presi- 
dents of  colleges  and  universities  represented  in  the  association,  or  other  representa- 
tives of  such  institution  duly  and  specifically  accredited  to  this  section,  and  no  action 
on  public  and  administrative  questions  shall  be  final  without  the  assent  of  this  sec- 
tion. The  section  on  experiment  station  work  shall  be  composed  of  the  directors  or 
acting  directors  of  experiment  stations  represented  in  the  association  or  of  other 
representatives  of  such  stations  duly  and  specifically  accredited  to  this  section. 

(2)  Members  of  these  two  sections  (and  no  others)  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  both 
in  general  sessions  and  in  the  section  to  which  they  respectively  belong.  The  rep- 
resentative appointed  by  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  shall  be  assigned  to  the 
section  on  college  work  and  administration;  the  representative  of  the  Office  of  Experi- 
ment Stations  to  the  section  on  experiment  station  work,  and  the  representative  of 
the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  to  either  section  as  he  may  elect  and  the  section 
by  vote  authorize;  but  such  election  once  made  and  authorized  may  not  be  changed 
during  the  sessions  of  a  given  convention.  Each  section  may  create  such  divisions 
as  it  may  from  time  to  time  find  desirable,  and  shall  elect  its  own  chairman  and  sec- 
retary for  sectional  meetings,  whose  names  shall  be  reported  to  the  association  for 
record. 

Change  the  number  of  paragraph  (2)  to  (3). 

At  the  end  of  the  present  paragraph  (2)  add,  and  in  ti><  ens,-  provided  for  in  the 
foregoing  paragraph  (1)  shall  also  have  been  approved  by  the  section  of  college  work  and 
administration. 


61 

Under  the  subtitle  "Officers,"  strike  out  all  of  paragraph  (I),  after  the  first  sen- 
tence, and  in  lieu  thereof  insert  the  following: 

And  an  executive  committee  of  iive  members,  three  of  whom  shall  be  chosen  by  the 
section  on  college  work  and  administration,  and  two  by  the  section  on  experiment 
station  work:  Provided,  however,  That  a  member  chosen  by  either  section  need  not 
be  a  member  of  that  section.  The  executive  committee  shall  choose  its  own 
chairman. 

Amend  paragraph  (3)  under  the  same  subtitle  by  striking  out  the  words  "All  offi- 
cers" and  inserting  in  lieu  thereof  the  words  The  president,  vice-presidents,  secretary, 
and  bibliographer. 

Under  the  subtitle  "Membership,"  in  paragraph  (2),  strikeout  all  of  the  first  sen- 
tence after  the  word  "Association." 

In  the  same  paragraph,  second  sentence,  after  the  word  "shall,"  insert  vote  in  only 
one  section  and  shall,  so  that  the  sentence  shall  read: 

The  same  delegate  may  represent  both  a  college  and  a  station,  but  shall  vote  in 
only  one  section  and  shall  cast  only  one  vote  in  general  sessions. 

Under  the  subsection  entitled  "Membership,"  in  last  sentence  of  paragraph  (2), 
substitute  the  word  division  for  the  word  "section." 

H.  P.  Armsby.  I  move  that  the  executive  committee  be  also  requested  to  take  such 
steps  as  may  be  necessary  for  reorganization  under  this  constitution. 
The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

Animal  and  Plant  Breeding. 

The  report  of  the  committee  on  animal  and  plant  breeding  was  presented  by  W.  M. 
Hays,  of  Minnesota,  as  follows: 

Your  committee  begs  leave  to  report  most  satisfactory  progress.  Upon  the  invita- 
tion of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  a  meeting  has  been 
called  for  December  29  and  30,  1903,  at  St.  Louis.  The  above-named  association  has 
kindly  provided  a  room  for  the  meeting  and  arrangements  for  reduced  rates  on  the 
railroads  will  no  doubt  cover  our  meeting.  A  programme  is  being  rapidly  perfected 
and  your  committee  is  much  gratified  with  the  general  and  almost  unanimous 
approval  of  the  plan  of  bringing  into  an  association  the  breeders  of  animals,  the 
breeders  of  plants,  the  teachers  of  animal  breeding,  the  teachers  of  plant  breeding, 
those  who  are  experimenting  in  plant  or  animal  breeding,  and  also  biologists  and 
others  who  are  interested  in  the  problems  of  heredity.  A  programme  is  assured  in 
which  discussions  of  practical  problems  of  breeders  and  the  results  of  scientific 
research  are  happily  combined.  All  who  are  interested  are  earnestly  requested 
to  attend  this  meeting,  or  if  that  is  not  practicable,  to  become  members  of  the 
proposed  association. 

Your  committee  respectfully  recommends  that  it  be  continued  for  another  year. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

W.  M.  Hays, 
T.  F.  Hunt, 
H.  J.  Webber, 
C.  F.  Curtiss, 
L.  H.  Bailey, 

Committee. 

W.  M.  Hays,  of  Minnesota.  I  wish  to  say  a  few  words  in  regard  to  the  proposed 
association  referred  to  in  the  report  just  read.  The  first  great  and  general  object,  of 
course,  is  to  study  and  investigate  the  philosophy  of  heredity,  the  facts  and  scien- 
tific theories  relating  to  the  improvement  of  plants  and  animals.  The  second  object 
is  to  bring  about  cooperation  and  to  stir  up  interest  in  the  work  of  improving  those 
plants  and  animals  which  we  use  in  this  country  to  produce  annually  something  like 
four  billions  of  dollars'  worth  of  wealth. 

It  is  believed,  at  least,  by  the  most  enthusiastic  of  us,  that  at  least  $1, 000, 000, 000 
worth  of  this  wealth  can  be  largely  influenced  by  breeding — probably  to  the  extent 
of  10  per  cent  average  increase,  equaling  $100,000,000.  This,  however,  can  only  be 
done  by  a  great  amount  of  work  and  thorough  organization. 

The  practical  breeders  of  both  animals  and  plants  in  this  country — the  men  who 
are  doing  advanced  work  in  these  lines — have  been  invited  to  attend  the  meeting 


62 

referred  to  in  the  report  We  are  inviting  them  to  meet  scientific  men,  teachers,  and 
experimenters,  that  these  two  classes  may  he  h rough t  into  relations  of  mutual 
helpfulness. 

The  report  was  accepted. 

Methods  of  Seed  Testing. 

The  following  report  of  the  committee  on  revision  of  methods  of  seed  testing  was 
read  by  A.  T).  Shamel,  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

The  standing  committee  on  methods  of  seed  testing  respectfully  reports: 

In  1897  the  committee  unanimously  agreed  on  a  schedule  of  rules  for  seed  testing, 
which  was  adopted  by  the  association  and  published  as  Circular  No.  34  of  the  Office 
of  Experiment  Stations. 

In  addition  to  rules  for  seed  testing  this  schedule  also  included  a  description  of  a 
standard  germinating  chamber.  Since  this  report  was  issued  the  form  of  the  stand- 
ard germinating  chamber  has  been  improved  and  a  less  expensive  one,  which  is  per- 
fectly satisfactory  for  routine  work  of  the  stations,  has  been  devised.  Several  other 
important  pieces  of  apparatus  have  been  designed  by  the  seed  laboratory  of  the  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture. 

It  is  desired  that  these  improved  pieces  of  apparatus  should  be  brought  to  the 
attention  of  the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations,  and  at  the  same  time 
that  certain  minor  changes  should  be  recommended  in  methods  of  testing.  The 
instructions  for  sampling,  a  matter  of  prime  importance,  should  be  made  more  spe- 
cific. More  definite  information  should  be  given  for  each  of  the  common  seeds  as  to 
the  character  of  the  seed  bed,  the  temperature  at  which  germination  tests  should  be 
conducted,  and  the  duration  of  the  tests.  A  table  giving  this  information  and  based 
on  the  work  done  in  the  seed  laboratory  is  to  be  incorporated  in  the  revised  rules. 

E.  II.  Jenkins, 
W.  R.  Lazenby, 

F.  W.  Card, 
E.  Brown, 

A.   D.    SlIAMEL, 

Committee. 

The  report  was  accepted  and  placed  on  file. 

Experiment  Station  Record. 

C.  E.  Thorne,  of  Ohio,  introduced  a  resolution  referring  to  the  extension  of  the 
Experiment  Station  Record,  which,  under  the  rules,  was  referred  to  the  executive 
committee  (see  p.  85). 

On  motion,  the  convention  adjourned  until  8  o'clock  p.  m. 

Evening  Session,  November  18,  1903. 

The  convention  met  at  8  o'clock  p.  m.,  but  almost  immediately  adjourned  until 
9  a.  m.  the  following  morning,  to  allow  the  members  of  the  convention  to  attend  a 
reception  tendered  the  association  by  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  at  his  home. 

Moknino  Session,  Thursday,  November  19,  1903. 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  at  !»  o'clock  a.  m.  by  the  president,  and  the 
chairman  of  the  executive  committee  announced  a  revised  order  of  business. 

History  ok  EXPERIMENT  Stations. 

II.  II.  Goodell,  of  Massachusetts.  We  have  had  at  various  times  papers  on  the 
origin  of  the  movement  for  the  establishment  of  agricultural  and  mechanical  colleges. 
That  subject  has  been  well  written  up  by  men  who  are  and  have  been  from  the  very 
first  actively  engaged  in  that  work.     We  have  had  no  such  paper  with  reference  to 


63 

the  establishment  of  experiment  stations.  There  is  only  one  man  connected  with 
our  association  who  really  was  in  it  from  the  very  beginning  and  who  knows  it-  his- 
tory thoroughly — that  is  President  Atherton.  It  seems  to  me  thai  we  ought,  if  pos- 
sible, to  have  such  a  paper  as  that  on  file.  1  therefore  move  that  the  secretary  of 
the  association  be  instructed  to  write  to  President  Atherton  asking  him  to  eontribute 
such  a  paper  to  be  presented  at  our  next  annual  convention. 
The  motion,  being  duly  seconded,  was  agreed  to. 

Illness  of  ex-President  B.  F.  Koons. 

The  chairman  of  the  executive  committee,  H.  C.  White,  read  a  letter  from  ex-Pres- 
ident Koons,  of  Connecticut,  stating  his  inability  on  account  of  illness  to  attend  the 
sessions  of  the  convention,  and  offered  the  following  resolution,  which  was  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  this  association  extend  to  ex-President  B.  F.  Koons,  a  former  mem- 
ber of  this  association,  and  one  who  still  retains  our  most  cordial  friendship,  our  sin- 
cere sympathy  in  his  illness,  and  express  the  hope  and  prayer  that  he  may  have  a 
speedy  recovery. 

Methods  of  Teaching  Agriculture. 

A.  C.  True,  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations.  Before  reading  the  formal  report 
of  the  committee,  I  desire  on  their  behalf  to  call  attention  to  one  or  two  matters  in 
the  line  of  their  work.  During  the  past  year,  as  the  outcome  of  suggestions  made  by 
the  committee,  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  has  completed  and  published  a 
bulletin  (No.  127)  entitled  "Instruction  in  Agronomy  at  Some  Agricultural  Col- 
leges." This  document  has  been  distributed,  and  some  of  you,  at  least,  may  have 
already  seen  it.  That  bulletin  has  met  with  a  very  favorable  reception,  which  has 
encouraged  the  committee  to  request  that  a  similar  bulletin  be  prepared  on  Zoo- 
techny,  and  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  hopes  to  undertake  that  work  at  an 
early  day. 

The  committee  has  also  observed  with  very  great  interest  the  development  of  a 
definite  movement  to  establish  courses  in  agriculture  and  mechanics  in  the  agricul- 
tural colleges,  and  to  provide  adequate  equipment  in  the  way  of  buildings  and  appa- 
ratus for  such  courses.  We  hope  soon  to  see  this  movement  so  far  developed  that 
our  colleges  will  have  systematic  and  thorough  courses  of  instruction  along  different 
branches  of  rural  engineering. 

Coming  now  to  the  report  proper,  the  committee  decided  this  year  to  present  to 
the  association  a  brief  discussion  of  the  relation  of  what  are  commonly  called  the 
natural  sciences  to  agriculture  in  a  four  years'  college  course. 

The  more  definite  formulation  of  courses  of  instruction  in  agriculture,  the  division 
of  these  courses  according  to  the  several  branches  of  the  science  of  agriculture,  and 
the  consequent  specialization  of  the  courses  due  to  the  employment  of  an  increased 
force  of  experts  in  various  agricultural  subjects,  have  already  led  to  a  considerable 
reorganization  of  faculties  and  courses  in  our  agricultural  colleges.  This  movement 
is  continuing  and  will  further  develop  with  the  increase  of  the  resources  and  equip- 
ment of  the  agricultural  departments  of  these  institutions.  One  effect  of  this  move- 
ment has  been  to  change  the  relation  of  the  natural  sciences  to  agriculture  in  the 
scheme  of  instruction  in  the  agricultural  colleges.  As  long  as  agriculture  ..as  taught 
almost  wholly  on  a  practical  basis  and  without  much  regard  to  its  pedagogical  formu- 
lation the  teachers  of  the  natural  sciences  were  called  upon  not  only  to  develop  the 
relations  of  these  sciences  to  agriculture  in  their  courses  of  instruction,  but  to  give 
instruction  in  strictly  agricultural  subjects,  and  this  was  done  to  a  considerable 
extent,  especially  in  chemistry  and  botany.  Out  of  this  grew  a  series  of  text-books 
and  manuals  in  which  the  general  principles  of  these  sciences  were  more  or  less 
extensively  combined  with  statements  of  their  relations  to  the  theory  and  practice 
of  agriculture.  Thus  we  have  books  on  agricultural  chemistry,  agricultural  botany, 
agricultural  physics,  etc.  The  preparation  of  such  books  was  a  very  useful  work. 
They  helped  to  turn  the  attention  of  scientists  to  the  importance  of  the  problems  of 
agriculture  and  thus  led  to  the  further  investigation  of  these  problems;  they  brought 
together  many  facts  and  principles  out  of  which  in  large  measure  the  science  of 


64 

agriculture  itself  is  now  being  constructed.  But  this  method  of  procedure,  as  we  can 
now  see,  had  also  some  unfortunate  results  from  which  we  are  seeking  to  escape 
through  the  more  thorough  formulation  of  the  science  of  agriculture  and  of  courses 
based  thereon,  ami  the  readjustment  of  the  courses  in  the  natural  sciences  to  meet 
this  new  condition  of  agricultural  pedagogy. 

One  result  of  the  prolonged  study  of  the  relations  of  science  to  agriculture  was  to 
lead  both  teacher  and  student  too  far  afield  in  the  pursuit  of  problems  which,  though 
important  scientifically  and  even  economically,  had  too  remote  connection  with 
agriculture  itself  to  make  it  worth  while  for  the  student  whose  aim  was  to  be  a  master 
of  the  theory  and  practice  of  agriculture  to  follow  after  them.  Thus,  for  example, 
agricultural  chemistry  developed  a  system  of  analysis  of  fertilizers,  feeding  stuffs,  and 
adulterated  products  which  in  the  minds  of  many  teachers  came  to  be  so  prominent 
a  part  of  this  branch  of  chemistry  that  it  often  assumed  an  undue  importance  in  the 
general  agricultural  courses  in  our  colleges.  Now,  we  shall  always  need  expert 
analysts  of  fertilizers  and  feeding  stuffs,  and  special  courses  for  the  training  of  those 
experts  should  be  offered  in  our  agricultural  colleges.  But  these  should  be  clearly 
differentiated  from  the  courses  intended  to  lay  the  foundations  for  the  scientific  study 
of  agriculture.  Under  the  old  system  the  emphasis  was  often  laid  so  much  on 
analytical  work  that  the  colleges  produced  many  analysts  and  but  few  agricultural 
experts.  So  in  botany  it  is  easily  possible,  for  example,  to  lay  so  much  stress  on 
studies  of  fungi  and  bacteria,  or  grasses,  that  the  students  are  led  to  strive  to  become 
experts  in  vegetable  pathology  or  agrostology.  It  is  true  we  need  many  more  such 
experts,  but,  nevertheless,  it  should  not  be  the  object  of  botanical  studies  underlying 
the  general  course  in  agriculture  to  aim  at  the  training  of  pathological  experts,  or 
agrostologists,  or  any  other  kind  of  botanical  experts.  While  botanical  experts  and 
agricultural  experts  may  for  a  time  profitably  study  botany  together,  their  paths 
should  soon  diverge,  and  this  must  be  kept  in  mind  by  teachers  of  botany. 

Another  unfortunate  result  of  the  old  arrangement  of  courses  in  our  agricultural 
colleges  was  that  the  study  of  the  general  principles  and  outlines  of  the  various 
natural  sciences  was  often  unwisely  abridged  in  order  to  give  more  attention  to  their 
economic  applications.  This  has,  perhaps,  not  been  so  much  the  fault  of  the  science 
teachers  as  of  the  managers  of  the  agricultural  colleges.  The  attempt  to  createa  very 
practical  atmosphere  in  these  institutions  has  often  led  to  great  disregard  of  estab- 
lished pedagogical  principles  in  the  teaching  of  the  complex  subjects  relating  to 
agriculture  and  other  arts.  Nothing  is  more  firmly  established  in  pedagogical  science 
than  the  principle  that,  before  proceeding  to  the  study  of  complex  problems,  the 
pupil  should  become  acquainted  with  the  elementary  facts  and  principles  involved 
in  the  solution  of  these  problems.  It  is  also  very  generally  agreed  that  an  outline 
study  of  a  general  subject  which  will  enable  the  pupil  to  have  some  comprehension  of 
the  subject  as  a  whole  and  the  relations  of  its  different  parts  should  precede  detailed 
study  of  special  topics  included  in  this  general  subject.  Thus  it  is  best  both  prac- 
tically and  pedagogically  that  the  boy  in  the  graded  schools  should  be  taught  an 
outline  of  the  history  of  the  United  States.  He  will  thus  acquire  a  certain  amount 
of  information  which  will  be  useful  to  him  if  he  goes  out  into  life  from  the  graded 
school,  and  he  will  also  have  laid  the  best  foundation  for  such  special  studies  of 
United  States  history  as  he  may  have  opportunity  to  pursue  in  higher  courses  of 
instruction.  In  like  manner  in  the  natural  sciences  there  should  be  a  sufficient 
period  of  general  study  before  special  topics  are  taken  up,  and  the  abridgment  of 
this  preliminary  course  throws  the  future  course  of  the  student  out  of  pedagogical 
balance. 

The  general  readjustments  of  science  teaching  which  are  demanded  by  the  present 
development  of  our  agricultural  colleges  are,  therefore,  first  the  more  thorough  teach- 
ing of  the  foundations  of  the  natural  sciences;  secondly,  the  clearer  differentiation  of 
the  courses  in  natural  science  associated  with  the  courses  in  agriculture  from  those 
which  are  intended  for  the  training  of  experts  in  various  economic  specialties  related 
to  agriculture;  and,  thirdly,  the  separation  from  the  science  courses  of  those  subjects 
which  may  be  more  appropriately  taught  by  the  instructors  in  the  various  branches 
of  agriculture  itself.  From  the  nature  of  the  case  it  is  obvious  that  the  details  of 
these  readjustments  can  be  worked  out  only  as  the  result  of  many  experimental 
efforts  and  long  discussion  of  the  practical  and  pedagogical  points  involved.  The 
evolutionary  forces  which  are  to  result  in  the  elaboration  of  more  perfect  and  satisfac- 
tory courses  of  instruction  in  agriculture  are  already  at  work  in  our  agricultural  insti- 
tutions and  they  will  continue  to  work  for  an  indefinite  period.  It  has  seemed,  how- 
ever, to  your  committee  that  at  this  juncture  it  would  be  helpful  to  call  attention  to 
some  of  the  general  factors  of  this  evolution  and  even  to  suggest  a  somewhat  definite 
mode  of  procedure  to  secure  the  sought -for  ends.  In  this,  as  in  other  lines  of  its  work, 
the  committee  has  assumed  that  it  would  be  more  useful  to  present  a  definite  scheme 


6S 

rather  than  general  suggestions.  This  is  done  with  the  understanding,  as  hereto  >f<  >re, 
that  the  committee  is  not  seeking  to  establish  dogmas  or  write  prescriptions,  but  only 
to  furnish  a  definite  basis  for  discussion.  It  is  the  more  encouraged  to  continue 
efforts  in  this  line  because  it  is  convinced  that,  as  the  result  of  its  previous  efforts,  the 

movement  for  the  betterment  of  courses  of- instruction  in  our  agricultural  colleges  has 
been  materially  aided,  though  no  institution  has  adopted  in  detail  the  programme 
laid  down  in  the  reports  of  this  committee. 

As  the  basis  of  our  presentation  of  a  scheme  of  science  teaching  for  a  four-year  col- 
lege course  in  agriculture,  we  take  (1)  the  standard  entrance  requirements  laid  down 
in  the  report  of  your  committee  on  entrance  requirements  as  published  in  Bulletin 
No.  41  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations;  (2)  the  general  outline  of  the  college 
course  as  made  by  that  committee  and  our  committee  and  published  in  Circular  No. 
37  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations;  and  (3)  the  syllabi  of  courses  in  the  different 
branches  of  agriculture  as  laid  down  in  the  reports  of  this  committee  published  in 
Circulars  Nob.  39,  41,  and  45  of  said  Office. 

The  standard  entrance  requirement  scheme  has  been  taken  rather  than  the  abridged 
scheme  presented  by  the  entrance  requirement  committee,  because  in  our  judgment 
there  can  be  no  satisfactory  arrangement  of  college  courses  in  agriculture  until  the 
students  admitted  to  the  college  courses  have  had  suitable  preparation  in  secondary 
schools.  Within  the  past  few  years  there  has  been  a  wonderful  development  of  the 
high  schools  in  all  parts  of  our  country  and  there  has  been  set  on  foot  a  movement 
for  the  establishment  of  secondary  schools  and  courses  especially  adapted  to  the 
requirements  of  our  agricultural  communities.  The  agricultural  colleges  should 
encourge  this  development  of  secondary  education  in  many  ways.  But  they  should 
do  so  especially  by  differentiating  their  college  courses  more  distinctly  from  secondary 
courses,  and  putting  their  college  courses  on  a  sufficiently  high  basis  to  make  the 
bachelor's  degree  from  an  agricultural  college  represent  an  education  of  as  high  a  grade 
as  a  bachelor' s  degree  from  any  other  college.  For  this  purpose  the  standard  entrance 
requirement  scheme  referred  to  above  is  none  too  high.  This  provides  for  at  least  a 
year's  instruction  in  some  natural  science.  It  is  believed  by  your  committee  that 
ordinarily  an  elementary  course  in  physics  or  chemistry  in  the  high  school  will  best 
lay  the  foundation  for  further  science  study.  In  the  scheme  herewith  presented  we 
selected  physics  as  the  science  to  be  taught  in  the  high  school  as  the  preliminary  to 
science  study  in  the  college  course  in  agriculture. 

In  the  general  scheme  of  the  four-year  college  course  in  agriculture  presented  here- 
with, we  have  first  provided  for  courses  in  general  physics  and  chemistry  on  the 
assumption  that  these  would  naturally  precede  the  study  of  plants  and  animals, 
whether  in  a  general  way  under  the  head  of  botany,  physiology,  or  zoology,  or  in  a 
special  way  under  the  different  branches  of  agriculture.  Some  knowledge  of  physics 
and  chemistry  is  also  essential  to  a  proper  understanding  of  even  the  elements  of 
meteorology  and  geology,  as  provided  for  in  this  course.  Botany  has  been  so  placed 
as  to  run  along  with  agronomy,  and  physiology  and  zoology  with  the  more  scientific 
presentation  of  zootechny. 

While  we  believe  it  would  be  well  for  the  agricultural  student  in  his  undergraduate 
work  to  take  all  of  the  subjects  included  in  the  scheme  as  here  outlined,  yet  we  have 
recognized  the  demand  for  an  earlier  specialization  of  agricultural  work  by  so  arrang- 
ing the  course  that  in  senior  year  at  least  some  studies  may  be  substituted  for  those 
laid  down  in  our  scheme.  For  example,  if  the  student  is  aiming  to  be  a  plant  expert 
he  may  omit  veterinary  science  and  take  more  of  applied  botany  or  horticulture,  or 
specialize  in  agronomy  as  far  as  additional  courses  in  these  subjects  are  offered  in  the 
institution  he  attends.  In  a  similar  way  the  student  devoted  to  animal  industry  may 
substitute  special  studies  along  this  line  for  the  horticulture  and  forestry. 

Agricultural  experts  can  not,  however,  expect  that  any  properly  adjusted  under- 
graduate course  will  fully  meet  their  needs  for  training  along  their  chosen  lines. 
Persons  who  expect  to  enter  positions  in  our  Department  of  Agriculture,  experiment 
stations,  or  agricultural  colleges  should  attain  at  least  the  master's  degree.  And 
ere  long  the  doctor's  degree  will  be  a  prerequisite  to  entrance  on  the  career  of  agri- 
cultural teacher  or  investigator  in  our  colleges  and  universities  -and  the  National 
Department  of  Agriculture. 

In  outlining  the  courses  in  the  various  sciences  the  purpose  has  been  to  indicate  in 
a  general  way  the  topics  which  may  properly  be  included  in  such  courses,  taking 
into  account  the  time  limitations  and  what  will  be  taught  under  the  head  of  agricul- 
ture. The  arrangement  of  these  topics  and  the  emphasis  to  be  laid  on  each  of  them 
will  of  course  vary  with  the  teacher,  as  well  as  the  equipment  and  other  conditions 
existing  in  particular  institutions.  Our  effort  has  been  chiefly  to  so  present  this 
matter  as  to  indicate  how  the  science  teaching  may  be  differentiated  from  and  at  the 
same  time  related  to  the  teaching  of  agriculture  in  a  college  course. 

21736— No.  142—04 5 


66 

In  arranging  this  scheme  the  committee  has  had  the  assistance  of  the  expert 

officers  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  and  of  Prof.  G.  P.  Merrill,  the  geologist 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  Text-books  and  specialists  in  a  number  of  different 
lines  have  also  been  consulted.  As  the  result  of  a  conference  with  Mr.  A.  F.  Woods, 
assistant  chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  who  is  chairman  of  a  committee 
appointed  by  the  section  of  botany  and  horticulture  of  this  association  to  formulate 
a  scheme  for  courses  in  botany,  it  was  ascertained  that,  after  an  independent  study  of 
this  matter,  that  committee  had  reached  substantially  the  same  conclusions  as  had 
our  committee  as  far  as  the  lines  of  our  work  coincided,  and  that  both  committees 
were  in  general  accord  with  the  scheme  proposed  by  a  committee  of  the  Society  for 
Plant  Morphology  and  Physiology.  Special  attention  is  therefore  invited  to  the 
report  presented  by  Mr.  Woods  to  the  section  on  botany  and  horticulture. 

The  standard  series  of  entrance  requirements  referred  to  above  is  as  follows: 

(1)  Physical  geography. 

i 2)  United  States  history. 

(3)  Arithmetic,  including  the  metric  system. 

(4)  Algebra,  to  quadratics. 

(5)  English  grammar  and  composition,  together  with  the  English  requirements  of 

the  New  England  Association  of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools. 

(6)  Plane  geometry. 

(7)  One  foreign  language. 

(8)  One  of  the  natural  sciences. 

(9)  Ancient,  general,  or  English  history. 

The  general  relation  of  the  natural-science  courses  to  those  in  agriculture  and  other 
subjects  may  be  seen  in  the  following  outline  of  the  agricultural  course  in  college  as 
laid  down  in  a  previous  report  of  this  committee. 


Agricultural  course  in  college.1-1 


Freshmen. 

Sophomores. 

Juniors. 

Seniors. 

Subjects. 

Hours. 

Subjects. 

Hours. 

Subjects. 

Hours. 

Subject-. 

Hours. 

Physics 

150 
150 

155 

120 

180 

Agriculture: 
Zootech...60 
Agron 90 

Meteorology . . . 

Agricultural 
chemistry 

Botany 

English 

Modern   lan- 
guage   

Drawing 

}      150 
60 

180 

120 

80 

100 
60 

Agriculture: 

Agron 50 

Zootech..l00 

Geology 

Botany 

Physiology 

Zoology 

Psychology 

Modern    lan- 
guage  

}      150 

120 

60 

180 

120 

60 

60 

Agriculture: 
Dairying..  70 
Farm  me- 
chanics .60 
Rural  eco- 
nomics..60 

Veteri  n  ary 
medicine 

Horticulture 
and  forestry.. 

Historyand  po- 
litical econo- 
omy 

Chemistry 

Geometry    and 
trigonometry . . 

1        190 

Modern    lan- 
guage   

1 

180 
180 

190 

Ethics  

40 

755 

750 

750 

780 

a\  general  outline  of  this  course,  without  reference  to  its  division  according  to  years,  was  given  in 
the  second  report  of  this  committee.  (See  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  Bui.  19  and 
Circ.  37.)  The  number  of  hours  assigned  to  each  subject  includes  the  time  given  to  laboratory  exer- 
cises, each  of  which  would  occupy  two  hours.  Thus,  for  example,  150  hours  of  physics  may  be  divided 
into  60  lectures  or  recitations,  and  45  (=90  hours)  laboratory  exercises.  Our  committee  has  not 
attempted  to  say  how  the  time  should  be  divided  between  lectures  or  recitations  and  laboratory  exer- 
cises, but  presupposes  that  a  reasonable  number  of  laboratory  exercises  or  practicums  will  be  given 
in  all  the  science  courses. 


The  arrangement  of  the  college  course  here  suggested  proceeds  on  the  assumption 
that  it  is  best  for  the  student  to  devote  his  time  largely  during  the  firsj.  two  years  to 
language,  mathematics,  and  the  fundamental  sciences,  physics,  chemistry,  and  bot- 
any. He  will  thus  be  prepared  for  a  better  understanding  of  the  more  complex  sci- 
ences of  agriculture,  zoology,  animal  physiology,  and  veterinary  medicine  in  the 
second  half  of  his  course. 

The  course  in  agriculture  has  been  arranged  with  reference  to  taking  up  first  in 
sophomore  year  some  of  the  simpler  topics  in  zootechny,  such  as  stock  judging  and 
types  of  breeds,  which  do  not  require  scientific  knowledge,  but  are  well  calculated 
to  arouse  the  interest  of  the  student  in  agricultural  subjects.  Agronomy  may  then 
be  taken  up  systematically  and  run  along  with  the  study  of  meteorology,  agricultural 
chemistry,  and  botany,  and  the  more  scientific  study  of  zootechny  may  be  parallel  with 


67 

the  study  of  physiology  and  zoology.  In  senior  year  a  considerable  number  of  elect- 
ives  could  be  offered,  one  or  more  of  which  might  be  substituted  Eor  veterinary 
medicine,  horticulture  and  forestry,  or  history  and  political  economy,  so  as  to  enable 
the  student  to  specialize  in  agronomy,  horticulture,  zootechny,  dairying,  farm 
mechanics,  vegetable  pathology,  entomology,  etc.  In  general,  however,  it  is  believed 
that  the  course  as  here  outlined  will  be  satisfactory  as  providing  a  liberal  education, 
including  systematic  study  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  agriculture,  and  as  a  good 
foundation  for  specialization  in  agriculture  and  the  sciences  related  thereto  in  post- 
graduate courses. 

COURSES  IN  THE  NATURAL  SCIENCES. 

PHYSICS — PKEPAKATOPvY  COURSE. 

General  laws  and  principles  of — 

Dynamics  of  solids,  liquids,  and  gases. 

Heat. 

Electricity  and  magnetism. 

Sound. 

Light. 

physics — college  course — 150  hours. 

General  constitution  and  properties  of  matter.- 


Solids  (mechanics). 


Dynamics,  or  the  general" 
laws  of  force  and  the 

relations    existing    BE-  -Liquids  (hydrostatics). 
tween  force,   mass,  and  Gases  (pneumatics). 
velocity  as   applied  to 


Heat 


Electricity    and    m  u; net- 
ism. 


Sound  and  light 


Measurement  of  temperature  (thermometry). 

Expansion  (solids,  liquids,  gases). 

Measurement  of  quantity  of  heat  (calorimetry,  specific 
heat). 

Latent  heat. 

Fusion  and  solidification. 

Evaporation  and  condensation. 

Conduction. 

Radiation. 

Thermodynamics. 

Relation  of  temperature  to  movements  of  the  atmos- 
phere. 

General  theories  and  laws. 
Sources  and  production. 
Measurement. 
Atmospheric  electricity. 
^Applications. 

Sound — production  and  propagation. 
(Propagation. 
Reflection. 
Refraction. 
Polarization. 

Applications — lenses    and    optical     instru- 
ments. 


Light 


IColor. 

general  chemistry — 150  hours. 

Properties  of  elements  and  chemical  reactions. 

Inorganic  preparations. 

Introduction  to  qualitative  analysis  /Blowpipe  analysis. 

\Separation  of  groups. 

Introduction  to  organic  chemistry. 


68 


AGRICULTURAL    CHEMISTRY — 180    HOURS. 


General  introduction  and  review 


Composition  and  properties  of  matter. 
Properties  and  laws  of  combination  of 

elements  and  simpler  compounds. 
Laboratory  manipulations. 
Classification    of     elements,     equations, 

formulas,  etc. 


Chemistry  of 


Introduction  to  analytical  methods. 


f Air  and  water. 

Soils  and  fertilizers. 

Plant  growth  and  products. 

[Foods. 
Animal  life.]  Nutrition. 

[Animal  body  and  products. 
Dairying. 


BOTANY — 180    HOURS.  « 

The  accompanying  outline  course  for  botany  in  the  agricultural  colleges  is  based 
very  largely  upon  the  standard  elementary  course  recommended  for  adoption  by  the 
Society  for  Plant  Morphology  and  Physiology,  and  embraces  one  year's  work,  the 
lectures  and  laboratory  work  required  being  about  180  hours.  The  various  topics 
and  sequence  need  not  be  strictly  followed,  and  in  many  cases  it  will  be  found  advis- 
able to  transfer  subjects  from  one  group  to  another  in  the  sequence  of  teaching. 
Either  group  may  be  condensed,  or  each  may  be  extended  to  cover  a  year's  work. 
If  120  hours  are  given  in  the  second  year  and  60  hours  in  the  third  year,  the  adjust- 
ment can  be  made  to  suit  the  convenience  of  the  instructor  and  the  facilities  for 
instruction.  Instruction  in  taxonomy  is  not  provided,  since  the  use  of  the  manual, 
while  desirable  in  itself,  is  not  essential  for  an  elementary  course  in  botany.  In 
Botany  II  it  is  recommended  that  the  earlier  groups  of  plants  be  passed  over  rapidly, 
particular  attention  being  given  to  their  economic  features,  and  that  progressively 
more  time  be  given  to  the  higher  and  more  conspicuous  forms.  The  course  as  a 
whole  may  be  given  in  about  80  hours  of  lectures  or  recitations  and  100  hours  of 
practicums. 

BOTANY    I. GENERAL    PRINCIPLES. 


The  seed 


Types. 
Structures. 
Homologous  parts. 
Food  supply. 
Germination. 


MORPHOLOGY. 


Gross  anatomy. 
Phyllotaxy. 

Buds 


f Common  forms. 
1  Winter  forms. 


Tissues 


fStructure. 
*1  Distribution. 


The  root. 


Specialized  forms  of  stems,  leaves,  etc. 

Growth,  annual. 

[Shedding  of  bark,  leaves,  etc. 

Gross  anatomy  of  typical  root. 
Secondary  roots. 
Specialized  forms. 


Tissues  . 


fStructure. 

I  Distribution. 


"The  time  allowance  for  this  course  might  with  advantage  be  extended  to  240  hours 
by  taking  60  hours  from  physiology,  which  has  been  given  a  relatively  liberal  time 
allowance. 


69 


A NATO  M Y      A  M D 
MORPHOLOGY — 

continued. 


The  flower. 


Typical  structure. 
Function  of  parte. 
Morphological  study  of  several  parts. 

Construction  off  Transverse, 
diagrams.  \Longitudinal. 

{Structure  with  especial  reference  to  changes  from 
flower  to  fruit. 
Morphological  study  of  types. 


The  cell 


Physiology 


Hole  of  water 


Photosynthesis 


"Contents. 
Structure. 
Modifications. 
Formation  of  tissues. 

'Absorption. 
Transfer. 
Transpiration. 
Turgidity. 
Plasniolysis. 

Role  of  chlorophyll. 
Role  of  light. 
Role  of  carbon  dioxid. 
Evolution  of  oxygen. 
Study  of  starch  grains. 


*«on gSASPS 


Digestion 


Irritability 


Growth 


Reproduction 


carbon  dioxid. 

I  Action  of  diastase. 
{Translocation  of  food. 

Nature  of  stimulus. 
Nature  of  response. 
I  ieotropism. 

Heliotropism. 
Hydrotropism,  etc. 

Localization. 

Amount  of  growth  in  seeds,  stems,  etc. 

Relation  to  temperature,  moisture,  etc. 

Fertilization. 

Sexual. 

Asexual. 


Ecology. — a  study  of  plants  in  theirs 
reciprocal  relations. 


Modifications  for  special  functions. 
Dissemination. 
Cross  pollination. 
Light  relations. 


Mesophytes. 

Hydrophytes. 

Halophytes. 

Xerophytes. 

Climbers. 

Epiphytes. 

Parasites. 

Saprophytes. 

Insectivorous  plants. 

Symbiosis. 

Plant  associations. 

Zonal  distribution. 


Plant  societies 


70 


HOTAXY    II. NATURAL    HISTORY    AND    CLASSIFICATION. 


(  Jl  OSSIFICATION. 

Structure. 
Reproduction. 
i  [omologies. 
Adaptations. 


Types  for  study 


Algae 


Fungi 


Pleurococcus. 
Spirogyra 

Vaucheria. 
Fucus. 

Bacteria. 

Yeasts. 

Rusts. 

Smuts. 

Mildews. 

Toadstools. 

Puffballs. 


Lichens Parmelia. 

Bryophites JHepatics  (Marchantia  or  Porella). 


Pteridophytes 


\Mosses 

{Ferns. 
Horsetails. 
Lycopodium. 


Gymnosperms  ....  .Pine. 

A^p— &ffion' 


meteorology — 60  hours. 

The  course  here  outlined  assumes  some  knowledge  of  general  weather  changes  as 
illustrated  on  the  daily  weather  map  and  as  recommended  by  the  conference  on 
geography  of  the  National  Educational  Association  in  1893  for  the  lower  schools,  and 
that  the  student  has  taken  an  elementary  course  in  physics  in  the  high  school  or  first 
year  in  college,  and  especially  has  precise  knowledge  of  mass,  volume,  density;  force, 
inertia,  velocity,  rotation,  centrifugal  force;  graYitation,  gravity,  weight;  atom,  mole- 
cule; solid,  liquid,  gas;  expansion,  heat,  temperature,  specific  heat,  latent  heat. 


Definition  and  scope. 


Till:  ATMOSPHERE  (iX  OEXERAL) 


Temperature 


Origin. 
Composition. 
Extent  and  weight. 

Arrangement   about   the   earth   (relations   to   geo- 
sphere  and  hydrosphere). 

[Sources,  nature,  transmission  of  heat. 
Variations. 
Measurement. 
Distribution  over  (be  earth. 


Pressure 


Circulation — g  e  n  e  b  a  l  move- 

UENTS  AND  LOCAL  w  l  M  «. 


(General  principles. 
Measurement 
Distribution. 
Relations  to  atmospheric  circulation. 

Measurement. 

Distribution. 

Causes    and    modifying    influence    (convectional 

theory  and  effects  of  earth's  rotation). 
(  la-silication. 


71 


Atmospheric 

moisture. 


Storms 


rOrigin. 
Measurement. 

Distribution. 

[Dew. 
Condensation  in  form  of. .<  Frost. 
(Clouds. 

{Tropical. 
Extratropical. 
Anticyclones. 
Thunderstorms. 
Tornad*  >es. 


Precipitation* 

Weather..    .. 
Climate 


Rainfall 


Snow,  hail,  etc. 


[Sources. 

(Measurement. 
Distribution. 
Relation  to  atmospheric  circulation. 


(01  different  zones  and  seasons. 
(Observation  and  prediction. 

fOf  different  zones,  elevations,  and  localities. 
1  Variations. 


geology — 120  hours. 
The  earth  in  its  relation  to  the  solar  system. 

The  atmosphere — composition,  volume,  and  weight. 
The  ocean — composition,  volume,  and  weight. 

Elements  constituting  rocks. 


Geognosy  :  the 
materials  of 
the  earth. 


The  solid  globe — I 
di  mens  ions  ,1 
shape,  and  con-| 
stitution. 


Minerals  constituting  rocks. 
Rocks. 


The  weathering  of 
rocks  and  for- 
mation of  soil. 


rAction    of   the   atmosphere   and 
of  heat  and  cold. 
Principles]  Chemical  action  of  water, 
involved.  )  Mechanical   action  of  water  and 
ice. 
Action  of  plants  and  animals. 

Weathering    of    granite,    gneiss, 
trappean     rocks,      sandstones, 
limestone,  slate,  etc. 
Considera-  Proportional     amounts     of     va- 

tions    of  I     rious   constituents  removed  or 

special]     lost. 

cases.  Physical     manifestations   of 

weathering — size  and  shape  of 
resultant  particles,  and  their 
chemical  composition. 

"Volcanoes,  hot  springs,  and  geysers. 

Earthquakes. 

Upheaval  and  depression. 

Circulation  of  water  in  springs,  rivers,  and  oceans. 

Glaciers  and  glaciation. 

Erosion  and  deposition. 

Metamorphism. 

{Architecture  of  the  earth's  crust,  stratification  and  bed- 
ding, jointing,  cleavage,  mode  of  occurrence  of  rock 
masses. 

Stratigraphic     GEOL-f  General  principles. 
ogy  (historical  ge-1  Development  of  life. 
ology).  [Development  of  continents. 


Dynamical  geology.. 


72 


Max  as  a  GEOLOGICAL/The  earth  as  modified  by  human   action:    effects   of   defor- 
agent.  \     estation,  etc. 

Ore  deposits — occurrence  and  mode  of  deposition. 

Ores  of  the  metals. 

The  nonmetallic  minerals. 

Building  and  decorative  material. 

Road  metal. 

Mineral  waters,  artesian  waters,  etc.  (hydrography). 

Soils — surveys  and  mapping. 

Physiographic    geol- f  Physiography — its  influence  on  distribution  and  development 
OGY.  1      of  the  human  race,  etc. 


Economic  geology 


PHYSIOLOGY — 180  HOURS. 

Physiology  is  the  science  of  the  functions  of  living  tissue  (here  confined  to  animals). 
The  main  facts  and  theories  of  animal  physiology  apply  to  man  and  the  various 
domesticated  animals,  and  constitute  the  subject  of  general  physiology.  If  preferred, 
a  course  in  human  physiology  covering  substantially  the  same  topics  may  be  sub- 
stituted. In  the  agricultural  college  the  hygiene  of  domesticated  animals  will  ordi- 
narily be  taught  under  the  separate  subject  of  zootechny,  and  the  same  may  be  said 
for  metabolism  and  digestion  in  different  species  of  animals.  Illustrative  materials 
and  simple  demonstrations  will  be  used  in  connection  with  the  lectures  or  text-book. 

Definitions,  problems,  methods  of  study. 
Composition. 


Protoplasm . 


Functions 


Metabolism. 
Change  of  form. 
Movements. 
'  Development  of  energy. 
Irritability. 
Reproduction. 

Physical  and  chemical  conditions  of  animal  life. 
Mechanics  of  animal  life. 

Saliva. 

Gastric  juice. 

Bile. 

Pancreatic  juice. 

Intestinal  juices. 

Lacteals  and  lymphatics. 

Mechanism  of  digestion. 

Absorption. 

Assimilation. 

Distribution  of  the  products  of  digestion. 


Digestion 


Blood. 


Respiration  . . 


Excretion 


f  Composition  and  elements. 
"  (Distribution  in  the  body. 

Respiratory  changes  in  the  blood  and  tissues. 

Oxygen,  carbon  dioxid,  and  nitrogen  in  the  blood. 

Mechanics  of  respiratory  movements. 

Nervous  control  of  respiration. 

Relations  of  circulatory  and  respiratory  systems. 

Composition  and  excretion  of  urine. 

Excretion  of  sweat  and  nature  and  amount  of  perspiration. 

Feces. 


ClIM'l    I.ATION 


Structure  of  heart,  arteries,  veins,  and 

functions. 
( Sourse  of  circulation. 
Mechanics  of  circulation. 
Nervous  control. 
Blood  pressure. 
Pulse. 
Fluctuations  in  quantity  of  blood. 


•api 


laries  as  related  to  t  heir 


73 


Muscular  action- 


Nervous  system 


Simple  muscular  contraction. 

Relation  of  nervous  and  muscular  systems. 

{  Chemical. 
Thermal. 
Electrical. 

Conditions  which  determine  muscular  irritability  and  action. 

f  brain  as   relate- 1    to  nerv- 


Brain 


Spinal  cord 


Structure  and  anatomy 

ous  functions. 
Localization  of  motor  and  sensory  areas  in  the  brain. 
Conditions  of  cerebral  action. 

("Structure  and  functions. 
'  "1  Reflex  actions. 


{Structure    and    optical  principles     of 
the  eye. 
Function  of  various  parts  of  the  eye. 


Special  senses 


Hearing Structure  and  functions  of  the  car. 


Smellim 


.Structure  and  functions  of  the  na- 
sal fossa?. 


rp     .  4  (Functions  of  various  organs  con- 
1     cerned  in  this  sense. 


r»™„.  ~  ~„  ("Function  of  various  organs. 

Reproduction  --jXlltrition  of  the  fetus. 

C  o  M  para  t  i  ve  (Comparative  study  of  various  functions  in  animals  and  man,  e.  g., 
physiology.     \    digestion  in  man,  horse,  cow,  sheep,  hog,  and  chicken. 

ZOOLOGY — 120    HOURS. 

Zoology  is  the  science  of  animal  life  in  its  broadest  sense.  In  agricultural  colleges 
the  subject-matter  of  zoological  courses  is  perhaps  best  largely  confined  to  a  study  of 
the  anatomy,  habits,  distribution,  and  natural  enemies  of  the  important  injurious 
and  beneficial  species.  The  special  economic  aspects  of  domesticated  mammals  and 
birds  would  naturally  be  taught  under  zootechny,  while  the  general  subject  of  the 
interrelations  of  animals  to  man  comes  under  the  subject  of  zoology.  An  outline 
course  in  economic  entomology  is  provided  in  connection  with  the  course  in  zoology. 
The  course,  as  a  whole,  provides  for  forty  to  forty-five  lectures  and  about  eighty 
practicums  (of  two  hours  each). 

Definition  and  general  orientation. 


Classification. 


Protozoa. 

Ccelenterata. 

Echinodermata 

Molusca. 

Vermes. 

Arthropoda. 

Bryozoa. 

Brachiopoda. 

Tunica  ta. 


Yertebrata 


Fishes. 

Amphibians. 

Reptiles. 

Birds. 

Mammals. 


74 


Geoss  anatomy. 


Discussion  and  study  of  types  of  various  groups. 

Comparative  morphology  of  organs  in  various 
groups. 

Anatomical  evidences  of  relationship  and  evolu- 
tion. 


Microscopical  anatomy 


Simple  cell. 

Muscle  cell. 

Gland  cell. 

Bone  cell. 

Nerve  cell. 

Various  forms  of  tissue. 


Development,  embryology 


Distribution 


Fertilization. 

Segmentation  of  egg. 

Germinal  layers. 

Origin  of  organs. 

Study  of  types. 

Embryological  evidences  of  relationship. 

Means  of  distribution. 

Laws  of  distribution. 

Natural  barriers  and  life  zones. 


f  Feeding  habits  of  various  groups. 
Interrelation  of  various  groups. 
Usefulness  of  animals  and  economic  animal  products. 


Economic  as- 
pects   of 

A  N  I  M  A  Li 
LIFE. 


Direct  re- 
lation- 
ship of 
animals 
to  agri- 
culture. 


Birds. 
Mammals. 


Insects 
(e  n  t  o  - 
mology). 


Classification. 
Habits. 
Life  history. 
Useful  species. 
Injurious  species. 


Means  of 
repres- 
sion. 


Parasitic  insects. 
Predaceous  insects. 
Fungus  diseases. 
Cultural  methods. 


Mechanical 
methods. 


Chem  ica  1 

methods. 


Barriers. 
Tar  bands. 
Traps. 

Ditches,  etc. 
Heat. 
Cold. 

Dry  insecticides. 


Spraying. 


C  o  n  t  a  c  t 

insecti- 
cides. 

Poisons. 

Spraying 
<•  a  1  e  n  - 
dar. 


A.  C.  True, 
II.  II.   Wing, 

T.     F.     Ill    NT, 

II.  T.   French, 
J.  F.  Duggar, 

<  'ommittee. 


75 

A.  C.  True.  I  fear  the  presentation  of  this  matter  has  been  somewhat  wearisome; 
but  it  seemed  to  us  desirable  to  put  the  matter  before  the  association  so  that  you 
might  get  at  least  some  general  notions  regarding  the  scheme  a  proposed  by  the 
committee.  We  shall  ask  your  further  patience  hereafter  in  reading  the  published 
report,  and  shall  invite  criticisms  and  suggestions  on  this  part  of  our  work,  as  we 
have  always  done  on  work  in  general  in  which  we  have  been  engaged. 

H.  C.  White,  of  Georgia.  I  am  sure  that  we  are  all  very  much  indebted  to  the  com- 
mittee for  this  report.  I  have  several  times  taken  occasion  to  state  on  the  floor  of 
the  convention  that  I  regard  the  work  of  this  committee  as  one  of  the  most  important 
species  of  work  that  is  being  done  by  the  association — an  attempt  to  reduce  to  peda- 
gogical form  sciences  and  the  application  of  sciences  to  agriculture.  I  think  we  owe 
the  committee  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  the  painstaking  way  in  which  they  have  worked 
out  this  matter. 

When  in  Europe  last  summer  I  heard  it  said  that  this  kind  of  work  in  particular 
is  being  better  done  in  America  than  elsewhere  in  the  world,  and  I  believe  it  is  true. 
I  believe  that  this  attempt  to  reduce  to  systematic  form  a  kind  of  teaching  which 
is  new  in  the  world  is  being  pursued  by  this  committee  in  a  way  that  is  not  pursued 
elsewhere.  I  hope  the  section  on  college  work,  to  which  these  matters  particularly 
appertain,  will  take  up  this  subject  next  year  and  consider  it. 

There  are  a  great  many  questions  which  arise  in  connection  with  this  subject.  One 
particularly,  which  occurs  to  me  now,  I  judge  the  committee  has  considered  very 
carefully.  One  of  the  greatest  difficulties,  I  presume,  that  all  of  us  have — certainly  that 
we  have  in  our  community — is  the  preparation  in  the  secondary  schools  for  entrance 
into  the  college.  Literary  institutions,  of  course,  have  their  forms  and  requirements 
for  such  preparation,  not  only  in  attainments  in  particular  studies,  but  the  intellec- 
tual training  for  admission  into  their  regular,  well-settled  college  courses.  There 
ought  to  be,  it  seems  to  me,  some  sort  of  training  in  the  secondary  schools  which  one 
might  call  scientific — pertaining  to  the  natural  sciences,  yet  not  simply  a  mass  of 
undigested  and  erratic  information — knowledge  that  would  have  some  sort  of  value 
as  an  intellectual  implement,  training  the  minds  of  the  students  in  the  same  way 
somewhat  that  the  old  courses  in  Latin  and  Greek  were  supposed  to  train  them  for  a 
literary  education. 

I  observe  that  the  committee  has  selected  physics  as  one  topic  of  study.  On  the 
spur  of  the  moment  it  seems  to  me  I  should  not  approve  that.  I  do  not  think 
the  schools  ought  to  be  encouraged  to  teach  chemistry,  physics,  botany,  and  all  the 
differentiated  departments  of  science.  They  can  not  do  it  well,  and  they  had  better 
not  undertake  to  do  it  than  do  it  badly. 

For  several  years  past  I  have  often  thought  it  might  be  possible  for  some  one  who 
can  give  this  matter  consideration,  and  who  is  qualified  to  do  it,  to  construct  a 
course  in  what  might  be  called  general  science — something  that  would  introduce  the 
student  to  the  methods  of  scientific  thought,  by  which  he  might  be  prepared  to 
take  up  the  differentiated  sciences  of  the  college  course.  I  do  not  believe  you  can 
teach  chemistry  or  physics  or  any  of  our  differentiated  sciences  in  the  schools.  But 
there  ought  to  be  some  sort  of  training  in  the  schools  which  will  bring  pupils  up  to 
a  point  where  they  can  appreciate  differentiated  sciences.  I  hope  the  committee 
will,  and  no  doubt  they  will,  take  this  matter  into  consideration. 

E.  A.  Bryan,  of  Washington.  I  wish  to  express  my  concurrence  in  the  remark  of 
President  White  that  the  work  of  this  committee  has  been  most  useful,  that  it  is  one 
of  the  most  important  parts  of  the  great  movement  in  which  we  are  engaged.  But 
so  far  as  concerns  the  general  scheme  proposed  in  this  report,  I  should  like  to  make 
one  or  two  suggestions  of  minor  importance. 

Horticulture  and  forestry  are  proposed  to  be  introduced  in  the  senior  year  to  the 
extent  of  180  hours.     Now,  there  has  been  in  practical  work  a  great  differentiation 


76 

between  the  work  of  the  horticulturist  and  the  agriculturist— I  mean  the  fruit  grower 
and  the  fanner.  There  should  be  a  differentiation  in  the  curriculum  leading  to  those 
subjects  of  study.  It  seems  to  me  unadvisable  that  there  should  be  introduced  into 
the  course  in  agriculture,  at  least  in  the  senior  year,  this  amount  of  horticulture  and 
forestry.  I  should  say  that  a  corresponding  curriculum  leading  in  the  direction  of 
horticulture  would  be  much  preferable. 

There  is  another  point  to  which  I  should  .like  to  call  attention.  A  remark  was 
made  by  Director  True  that  it  was  the  general  view  of  the  committee  that  the  pri- 
mary sciences  should  be  studied  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  curriculum  because  they 
formed  in  a  certain  sense  the  foundation  for  the  work  in  agriculture  further  along. 
This  seems  to  be  true.  There  is,  however,  this  very  practical  difficulty — that  the 
teachers  in  agriculture  are  not  brought  into  contact  with  the  students  who  wish  to 
do  that  work.  The  students  are  brought  into  contact  with  the  teachers  of  these  pri- 
mary sciences,  who  are  not  particularly  interested  in  the  application  of  these  sciences. 
That  gives  rise  to  very  great  practical  difficulty.  If  a  young  man  is  allowed  to  go  on 
to  the  sophomore  or  junior  portion  of  the  course  before  he  comes  in  contact  with  the 
teacher  of  agriculture  or  horticulture,  as  the  case  may  be,  the  result  must  be  unde- 
sirable. I  believe  that  the  practical  gain  would  be  greater  by  bringing  him  into  con- 
tact as  early  in  his  career  as  possible  with  the  men  who  are  interested  in  the  practical 
applications  of  these  subjects. 

I  know  that  the  theory  is  that  primary  scientific  methods  should  be  somewhat 
understood  before  undertaking  these  matters  of  detail;  but  I  doubt  whether,  as  a 
practical  proposition,  that  object  is  so  highly  important  as  some  suppose. 

I  notice  that  physical  geography  is  suggested  as  one  of  the  subjects.  Now,  as 
physical  geography  has  been  taught  in  the  academies  and  high  schools  of  the 
country,  it  seems  to  me  ill  adapted  to  the  purposes  in  view  here.  It  is  not  a  science, 
nor  does  it  give  training  in  scientific  methods  as  ordinarily  understood.  Physical 
geography  may  be  a  very  useful  study  in  an  ordinary  college  or  university;  but 
it  is  pursued  by  purely  informational  processes  and  the  student  gets  no  training 
in  scientific  methods.  We  regard  this  and  similar  subjects  as  ill  adapted  to  the 
purposes  in  view.  A  beginning  in  the  study  of  scientific  methods  through  an 
attack  on  one  of  the  biological  sciences  would  seem  to  be  of  very  great  importance 
in  the  secondary  schools  and  would  be  far  better  than  such  a  collection  of  things 
as  is  usually  embodied  under  the  name  of  physical  geography. 

In  the  main,  however,  I  believe  the  work  of  this  committee  has  been  very  useful, 
and  I  think  that  there  is  no  one  thing  in  which  our  colleges  might  make  greater 
advancement  than  in  the  pedagogy  of  agriculture. 

E.  B.  Andrews.  As  is  well  known  to  gentlemen  here,  there  is  in  some  of  the 
States  a  movement  on  foot  to  develop  the  teaching  of  the  elements  of  agriculture  in 
the  public  schools,  not  with  any  particular  view  to  prepare  the  pupils  to  enter  the 
agricultural  colleges,  but  as  an  important  matter  in  connection  with  the  general 
instruction  of  young  people  in  the  agricultural  States.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  is  a 
movement  which,  from  every  point  of  view,  ought  to  be  fostered  and  furthered  so 
far  as  possible  by  this  association  and  the  institutions  represented  here.  It  may  be 
that  the  committee  to  whose  admirable  report  we  have  just  listened  with  delight  have 
in  mind  some  plan  looking  in  that  direction.  If  not,  I  should  be  glad  to  make 
a  motion  at  the  proper  time  that  this  committee  be  requested  in  its  discretion, 
next  year  or  as  soon  as  it  can  conveniently  do  so,  to  include  in  its  report  as  fully  as 
possible  suggestions  and  directions  to  public  school  superintendents,  principals,  and 
teachers,  as  well  as  the  representatives  of  this  association  who  are  interested  in 
public  school  work,  toward  the  formulation  of  suitable  courses,  text-books,  etc.,  cal- 
culated to  be  helpful  to  the  efforts  now  making  to  give  the  instruction  in  the  ele- 
ments of  agriculture  in  the  public  schools. 


77 

This  is  a  very  rough  presentation  of  the  thought  I  have  in  mind,  but  I  should  In- 
glad  to  ascertain  from  Doctor  True  whether  the   mind  of   the  committee  has  been 

turned  in  that  direction. 

A.  C.  True.  This  matter  was  taken  up  in  a  way  last  year.  As  regards  secondary 
instruction,  that  might  be  given  in  the  public  schools.  A  report  made  on  that 
subject  last  year  has  been  published  by  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  as  ( lircular 
49.  But  with  regard  to  the  lower  grades  of  our  schools,  we  have  not  yet  as  a  com- 
mittee done  any  definite  work. 

I  might  say,  however,  that  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  has  on  its  own 
account  been  giving  in  recent  years  considerable  attention  to  that  matter,  and  we 
have  recently  issued  a  circular  containing  a,list  of  books  relating  to  this  subject  1 
simply  speak  of  this  as  one  indication  that  we  are  thinking  about  the  subject.  We 
have  also  taken  special  pains,  so  far  as  we  could,  to  come  in  contact  with  the  State 
superintendents  and  the  teachers  to  discuss  this  matter. 

We  have  one  man  in  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  who  is  giving  a  large  share 
of  his  time  to  the  study  of  that  problem.-  He  has  recently  been  in  the  State  of  -Mis- 
souri at  the  invitation  of  the  State  superintendent  and  has  given  lectures  on  topics 
connected  with  the  subject.  During  the  time  he  was  there  he  talked  with  a  large 
number  of  teachers,  and  he  has  done  the  same  in  some  other  States  so  far  as  his  time 
would  permit.  I  simply  say  this  to  indicate  that  we  are  taking  up  this  question. 
I  am  sure  that,  if  it  be  the  desire  of  the  association,  the  committee  will  be  glad  to  con- 
sider definitely  this  subject. 

With  regard  to  what  President  Bryan  has  said.  I  would  state  that  while  I  do  not 
desire  to  go  into  a  discussion  of  details  at  this  time,  the  committee  from  the  outset 
has  gone  on  the  presumption  that  courses  in  horticulture,  or  in  which  horticulture 
would  be  a  chief  subject,  would  generally  be  provided  by  the  colleges  as  interest  in 
the  subject  develops.  This  has  already  been  done  in  a  considerable  number  of  our 
larger  colleges.  In  the  course  outlined  by  the  committee,  only  enough  horticulture 
has  been  introduced  to  give  an  outline  of  the  subject  to  the  general  student  of  agri- 
culture. 

As  regards  physical  geography,  I  presume  in  that  respect  the  entrance  requirement 
of  the  committee  simply  follows  what  is  taught  in  the  schools  generally.  Whether 
that  is  best  or  not  is  another  question. 

The  importance  of  reducing  agricultural  science  to  pedagogical  form,  and  the  prog- 
ress which  is  being  made  in  the  preparation  of  elementary  agricultural  text-books 
and  in  the  introduction  of  agricultural  instruction  in  the  lower  schools  were  discussed 
by  W.  O.  Thompson,  of  Ohio;  E.  B.  Andrews,  of  Nebraska;  T.  E.  Miller,  of  South 
Carolina,  and  others. 

C.  Northrop,  of  Minnesota,  suggested  that  the  subject  of  agricultural  instruction 
in  secondary  or  primary  schools  be  one  of  the  topics  for  discussion  at  the  meeting  of 
the  section  on  college  work  next  year,  and  that  those  who  are  interested  should  bring 
to  the  convention  the  laws,  the  text-books,  and  other  printed  matter  relating  to  the 
subject  from  their  various  States. 

The  report  was  received  and  placed  on  file. 

Graduate  Work  in  Agriculture. 

H.  C.  White  (reporting  from  the  executive  committee)  said:  "This  committee  has 
suggested  and  the  convention  has  ordered  that  a  standing  committee  on  graduate 
study  in  agriculture  be  organized.  I  therefore  move  that  the  convention  express  to 
this  standing  committee  on  graduate  study  their  desire  and  hope  that  they  may  be 
able  to  arrange  for  a  graduate  school  in  agriculture  for  the  summer  of  1904." 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 


78 

Cooperation  Between  Experiment  Stations  and  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

E.  A.  Bryan,  of  Washington,  read  the  following  report: 

Your  committee  on  cooperative  work  between  the  experiment  stations  and  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  would  respectfully  report: 

First.  That  in  the  opinion  of  your  committee  nothing  need  be  added  to  the  state- 
ment of  fundamental  principles  embodied  in  the  two  previous  reports  of  your  com- 
mittee. 

Second.  That  satisfactory  progress  has  been  made  in  most  instances  in  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  details  of  such  work. 

Third.  That  the  views  heretofore  expressed  by  your  committee  of  the  importance 
of  a  full  and  free  consultatfon  between  the  stations  and  the  members  of  the  Depart- 
ment in  regard  to  the  work  undertaken  ifi  the  several  States  is  to  be  further  empha- 
sized, and  that  attention  to  this  matter  would  do  much  to  remove  possible  sources  of 
irritation. 

Fourth.  That  it  is  with  great  gratification  that  your  committee  learns  that  the  Sec- 
retary of  Agriculture  has  recently  issued  an  order  appointing  a  committee  from 
members  of  the  Department  charged  with  the  duty  of  perfecting  the  details  of  a 
system  of  cooperation. 

Fifth.  That  in  the  opinion  of  your  eommittee  a  standing  committee  on  cooperation 
should  be  maintained  by  the  association. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

E.  A.  Bryan, 
H.  H.  Qoodell, 
W.  A.  Henry, 
L.  G.  Carpenter, 
B.  T.  Galloway, 

Committee. 
The  report  was  received  and  the  committee  continued. 

Rural  Engineering. 

W.  E.  Stone,  of  Indiana,  read  the  following  report  from  the  standing  committee 
on  agricultural  engineering: 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Association  of  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment 
Stations  the  following  resolution  was  adopted: 

"  Whereas  the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations,  as  well  as  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture,  are  broadening  their  work  relating  to  irrigation  and 
farm  machinery  and  other  lines  of  agricultural  engineering,  and  there  is  pressing 
need  of  the  more  definite  formation  of  plans  for  this  work;  Therefore,  be  it 

"Resolved,  That  this  association  make  provision  for  the  appointment  of  a  standing 
committee  on  agricultural  engineering,  to  consist  of  five  members,  and  that  it  be  made 
the  duty  of  this  committee  to  cooperate  wTith  the  Department  of  Agriculture  in  pro- 
moting education  and  research  along  the  different  lines  of  agricultural  engineering." 

Your  committee  appointed  in  pursuance  of  this  resolution  begs  leave  to  submit 
the  following  progress  report: 

Rural  engineering,  as  defined  in  Circular  45  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  is 
"the  science  and  art  of  laying  out  farms,  designing  and  constructing  farm  buildings 
and  works,  and  making  and  using  farm  implements  and  machinery." 

A  careful  examination  of  existing  conditions  in  the  United  States  leads  to  a  belief 
that  there  should  be  a  strengthening  of  the  courses  of  instruction  in  these  subjects 
in  our  colleges,  mid  the  inauguration  of  comprehensive  investigations  and  research 
work  to  ascertain  the  best  practice  in  this  and  other  lands  and  provide  up-to-date 
information  for  instruction  in  our  institutions  of  learning.  This  is  equally  true 
whether  the  opportunities  for  students  or  the  needs  of  the  American  farmers  are  con- 
sidered. The  field  of  practical  usefulness  for  the  one  and  the  need  of  the  other  are 
alike  extensive.     In  support  of  these  conclusions  we  submit  the  following  facts: 

The  comparatively  large  areas  of  American  farms  makes  the  laying  out  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  different  fields  a  matter  of  special  importance  to  our  farmers.  In  order 
to  maintain  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  rotation  of  crops  must  be  practiced.  To  do  this 
fields  should  have  such  areas  and  such  number  as  will  make  a  regular  system  of  rota- 
tion feasible.  This  gives  an  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  skill  and  intelligence, 
and,  in  connection  with  the  building  of  roads  leading  from  farm  buildings  to  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  farm,  may  involve  marked  economy  or  serious  waste  in  the  expenses 


79 

of  construction  and  in  the  distances  traveled  in  going  to  and  from  the  fields.  It  in, 
therefore,  one  of  the  things  to  which  attention  should  be  directed  in  our  institutions 
of  learning. 

Closely  related  to  the  arrangement  of  fields  is  the  construction  and  grouping  of 
farm  houses  and  farm  buildings,  not  only  to  secure  efficiency  and  economy,  but  to 
contribute  to  the  healthfulness  and  attractiveness  of  farm  lite.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  present  conditions  in  these  particulars  in  the  United  States  arc  inferior  to  those 
in  most  European  countries,  and  it  is  equally  certain  that  improving  the  conditions 
of  farm  life  will  have  much  to  do  with  determining  whether  the  exodus  of  people 
from  the  country  to  the  cities  will  be  checked  or  become  greater  in  the  future  than 
in  the  past. 

In  the  construction  of  farm  buildings,  both  barns  and  houses,  the  farmer  is  almost 
entirely  dependent  on  his  own  knowledge  and  ingenuity  in  preparing  plans  and  often 
in  their  execution.  The  designing  of  city  buildings  is  largely  in  the  hands  of  archi- 
tects and  engineers,  and  they  are  constructed  by  expert  mechanics.  They  have, 
therefore,  a  finish  and  convenience  which  add  largely  to  the  attractiveness  of  city 
life.  In  the  country,  however,  exactly  the  reverse  is  true.  The  great  majority  of 
farm  buildings  are  unsatisfactory,  whether  considered  from  the  standpoint  of  appear- 
ance, durability,  adaptability  to  the  work  to  be  done,  healthfulness,  or  pleasantness  for 
the  occupants.  Some  problems  in  connection  with  farm  buildings  need  careful  study. 
Among  these  is  ventilation.  The  fact  is  we  do  not  know  either  the  effect  of  poor 
ventilation  or  the  most  efficient  means  of  securing  good  ventilation.  But  the  majority 
of  the  improvements  to  be  wrought  do  not  require  research  so  much  as  the  applica- 
tion of  skill  and  ingenuity  in  design.  One  illustration  of  this  is  the  fact  that  nothing 
is  of  more  service  in  a  home  than  a  convenient  water  system.  Much  of  the  dislike 
which  many  women  have  to  farm  life  comes,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  from  the 
heavy  work  of  handling  water  in  cooking  and  washing,  all  of  which  could  be  easily 
saved  by  the  adoption  of  readily  available  means.  There  is  no  reason  why  a  farm 
house  should  not  be  as  attractive  as  a  city  house,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  the 
grounds  surrounding  farm  houses  should  not  be  made  as  attractive  as  city  parks.  It 
is  largely  because  farm  life  and  the  farm  home  are  not  attractive  that  many  of  the 
enterprising,  aggressive  youth  of  the  country  flock  to  the  cities. 

Heretofore  nearly  all  farm  buildings  have  been  built  of  wood.  A  change  in  this 
direction  is  inevitable  in  the  near  future.  Timber  is  becoming  scarce  and  costly  and 
must  be  supplemented  by  brick,  stone,  or  concrete.  We  ought  to  begin  in  the  near 
future  to  determine  the  relative  value  and  cost  of  these  different  materials,  and  this 
is  particularly  a  work  for  the  colleges  and  stations.  The  character  of  farm  buildings 
has  also  changed  greatly  in  the  past  quarter  of  a  century.  Formerly  they  were  sim- 
ply storage  places  for  grain  or  shelters  for  live  stock.  With  the  introduction  of  feed 
cutters,  silos,  power  churns,  centrifugal  cream  separators,  and  scores  of  other 
machines  formerly  unknown,  these  buildings  are  becoming  as  complex  in  their 
designs  and  uses  as  factories,  and  there  is  need  of  scientific  study  to  determine  the 
most  economical  designs  to  fulfill  these  different  requirements. 

Another  reason  for  strengthening  these  courses  of  study  is  the  fact  that  all  of  the 
public  lands  susceptible  of  cultivation  in  their  natural  condition  have  been  taken  up, 
so  that  this  outlet  for  our  growing  population  is  closed.  We  have,  however,  large 
areas  of  land  which,  when  drained  or  irrigated,  can  be  settled  upon  and  cultivated. 
The  importance  of  irrigation  is  manifest  from  the  statement  that  in  two-fifths  of  the 
United  States  it  is  an  absolute  necessity  to  the  existence  of  civilized  life,  and  there 
is  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  destined  to  be  an  important  means  of  increasing 
production  throughout  the  wrhole  country.  But  in  order  that  fields  may  be  irrigated 
they  must  be  smoothed  so  that  water  will  flow  over  them ;  and  in  order  that  the  best 
results  may  be  obtained,  the  methods  of  applying  water  to  crops  to  secure  the  great- 
est economy  in  use  and  the  largest  yields  must  be  studied,  and  the  mutual  relation 
of  peoples  who  depend  on  the  same  water  supply  must  be  ascertained  in  order  that 
we  may  have  institutions  which  will  secure  harmony  and  justice. 

An  excellent  beginning  in  the  study  of  these  questions  has  been  made  in  a  few 
institutions  and  by  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  but  there  is  a  great  field  for 
the  extension  of  both  instruction  and  research  and  for  a  broader  cooperation  between 
the  Department  and  the  State  institutions  in  both  the  cultural  and  engineering  sides 
of  this  branch  of  agriculture. 

Of  wider  application  and  scarcely  less  importance  is  the  subject  of  drainage.  The 
marsh  and  overflowed  lands  along  our  seacoast  and  the  bottom  lands  bordering 
many  of  our  rivers  are  at  present  unsightly,  unproductive,  and  in  some  instances  a 
menace  to  the  health  of  surrounding  districts.  They  need  only  to  be  diked  and 
drained  to  be  the  most  valuable  lands  in  the  country.  The  carrying  out  of  these 
improvements  will  add  immensely  to  the  agricultural  values  of  the  country,  and  the 
work  is  certain  to  be  undertaken  in  the  near  future.     It  involves,  however,  a  larger 


80 

knowledge  of  agricultural  engineering  than  can  now  be  obtained  in  our  land-grant 
colleges.      In  fact,  the  profession  of  agricultural  engineer,  so  prominent  in  Europe,  is 

almost  unknown  in  this  country.  Very  little  has  been  done  in  this  country  to 
develop  a  satisfactory  drainage  practice.  The  principles  of  drainage  are  understood 
by  but  few,  and  instruction  in  our  colleges  is  meager  and  far  from  being  up  to  date. 
Drainage  laws  are  far  from  satisfactory  and  need  to  be  modified,  because  this  work 
is  beyond  the  means  of  individuals  and  must  be  carried  out  by  organizations  of  large 
numbers  of  landowners  associated  under  some  definite  le^al  plan.  Careful  work 
must  be  done  in  the  study  of  the  practical  side  of  this  subject,  in  determining  the 
most  effective  methods  of  constructing  ditches,  in  determining  the  kind  of  underdrains 
to  be  used,  the  depth  at  which  they  should  be  laid,  the  distance  apart,  etc. 

We  believe  that  in  irrigation  and  drainage  there  is  a  field  for  cooperation  between 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  experiment  stations  and  colleges  which  ought 
to  be  more  fully  utilized,  the  Department  of  Agriculture  coordinating  the  work  of 
the  stations  and  aiding  them  in  carrying  out  original  researches. 

Associated  with  drainage  and  irrigation  is  another  branch  of  hydraulic  agriculture 
whose  importance  has  not  been  properly  realized.  .This  is  the  terracing  and  draining 
of  hillside  farms  in  order  to  protect  them  from  the  destructive  effects  of  erosion.  It 
is  an  unfortunate  fact  that  much  of  the  activity  of  the  last  century  in  subduing  and 
settling  this  country  has  been  of  a  destructive  character.  Forests  have  been  cut 
from  the  headwaters  of  streams;  the  hillsides  which  they  protect  have  been  exposed 
to  the  erosion  of  storms,  and  the  evils  of  the  work  done  by  rainfall  have  been  aggra- 
vated by  the  planting  of  these  lands  to  crops  which  require  clean  culture,  such  as 
corn,  tobacco,  and  cotton,  which  provide  no  binding  material  for  the  soil.  As  a 
result,  much  of  the  accumulated  fertility  has  been  carried  down  into  the  channels  of 
streams,  thus  leaving  thousands  of  acres  of  what  was  fertile  land  not  many  years  ago 
scarred  with  gullies  and  practically  abandoned  to  weeds  and  brush.  We  must  stop 
this  destructive  style  of  farming,  if  we  are  to  maintain  the  prosperity  and  provide  an 
adequate  food  supply  for  many  sections  in  the  eastern  half  of  the  United  States.  To 
find  out  how  best  to  do  this  and  to  encourage  farmers  to  begin  action  is  a  work 
which  both  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  different  State  experiment  sta- 
tu >ns  should  take  up  at  once.  The  hill  lands  of  France,  Germany,  and  England  are  as 
fertile  as  they  were  a  century  ago,  although  many  of  them  are  devoted  to  cultivated 
crops.  The  credit  for  these  results  is  due  to  the  existence  of  a  body  of  trained  agri- 
cultural engineers,  a  class  of  professional  men  not  now  existing  in  the  United  States. 
The  time  has  come  when  our  colleges  should  lend  themselves  actively  to  this  sort  of 
training.  The  opportunities  for  employment  in  irrigation,  drainage,  and  hillside 
protection  are  sufficiently  great  to  make  it  an  attractive  course  to  young  men  having 
aptitude  for  such  work,  and  it  is  the  field  to  which  we  must  look  for  the  largest 
results  in  the  extension  of  our  productive  area  and  in  the  conservation  of  the  fertility 
of  much  of  the  land  now  being  farmed. 

Another  branch  of  rural  engineering  is  the  construction  of  country  roads.  Increase 
in  population  in  our  cities  has  resulted  in  larger  areas  being  devoted  to  the  production 
of  perishable  products — such  as  milk,  garden  truck,  and  fruit.  The  marketing  of  these 
has  greatly  increased  the  travel  on  country  roads.  The  character  of  these  products 
is  such  as  to  demand  quick  transportation,  thus  rendering  it  necessary  that  the  roads 
should  be  hard  and  smooth,  and  this  is  being  emphasized  by  the  fact  that  the  auto- 
mobile and  traction  engine  require  a  better  roadway  than  the  horse  and  cart.  To 
build  roads  suited  to  the  conditions  of  modern  life,  especially  in  the  vicinity  of 
cities,  requires  a  knowledge  of  engineering  wholly  different  from  that  of  a  quarter  of 
a  century  ago,  and  demands  not  only  that  the  courses  of  instruction  be  strengthened, 
but  that  facilities  be  provided  for  experimentation  regarding  the  best  materials 
to  use. 

It  is  believed,  however,  that  the  greatest  opportunities  for  students  and  for  the 
improvement  of  the  general  agricultural  practice  of  this  country  will  be  found  in  the 
systematic  study  of  the  manufacture  and  use  of  agricultural  machinery.  This  coun- 
try is  the  greatest  maker  and  user  of  farm  machinery  in  the  world,  and  it  is  due 
largely  to  this  fact  that  we  have  become  the  most  prosperous  agricultural  country  in 
the  world.  It  has  enabled  the  farmer  to  pay  the  high  prices  for  labor  created  by 
the  competition  of  our  manufactories  and  has  taken  away  from  farm  life  much  of 
the  drudgery  of  manual  toil  and  made  it  in  the  best  sense  an  intellectual  pursuit 
Improvements  in  machinery  have  brought  about  a  steady  reduction  in  the  cost  of 
production,  notwithstanding  the  steady  rise  in  wages.  The  self-binder  enables  one 
man  to  accomplish  the  work  done  by  four  men  with  the  best  machinery  in  use  at 
the  close  of  the  civil  war.  The  check-Vow  corn  planter  and  the  two-horse  cultivator 
have,  according  to  a  recent,  writer,  lessened  by  more  than  half  the  labor  cost  of  pro- 
ducing a  bushel  of  Indian  corn.  Machinery  has  enabled  the  eastern  farmer  to  adopt 
intensive  farming.     The  windmill  pumps  the  water  used  in  the  dairy,  the  centrifugal 


81 

separator  skims  the  milk,  and  water  or  wind  power  runs  the  churn.     The  gasoline 

or  steam  motor  is  beginning  to  haul  the  product  of  the  truck  farm  to  the  city  market, 
rendering  the  farmer  equally  independent  of  horses  and  railways. 

In  the  same  way  it  has  enabled  the  western  farmer  to  plant  and  harvest  large 
areas,  notwithstanding  the  scanty  labor  supply  to  be  found  there.  Last  year  a 
traction  engine  in  California  cut  and  thrashed  over  a  hundred  acres  of  wheat  in  a 
single  day,  doing  the  work  of  nearly  one  hundred  horses  with  modern  mowing  and 
reaping  machinery,  and  equaling  the  result  accomplished  by  that  many  men  and 
horses  fifty  years  ago.  Less  than  a  century  separates  the  operation  of  machines 
like  this  and  the  cutting  of  grain  with  the  scythe  and  thrashing  it  with  the  flail, 
and  the  improvements  which  have  been  made  in  harvesting  machinery  have  been 
duplicated  in  many  other  lines  of  farm  work.  There  are  now  traction  engines  which 
plow  30  acres  of  ground  in  a  day.  Recently  a  gasoline  motor  has  been  invented  which 
promises  to  be  as  successful  in  displacing  the  horse  in  certain  lines  of  work  on  the 
farm  as  the  automobile  is  on  the  country  roads. 

The  demands  which  these  changes  are  making  on  the  farmer  for  a  knowledge  of 
the  principles  of  mechanics  and  for  a  certain  amount  of  skill  in  their  application  is 
so  much  greater  than  it  was  a  century  ago  that  it  can  not  be  stated  as  a  percentage. 
The  question  wre  have  to  consider  is  whether  we  have  recognized  this  change  in  the 
courses  of  instruction  in  our  agricultural  colleges.  Your  committee  is  unanimously  of 
the  opinion  that  we  have  not,  and  that  the  facilities  for  instruction  are  not  in  keeping 
with  the  importance  of  this  branch  of  agriculture.  In  the  majority  of  institutions 
the  same  kind  of  mechanical  training  is  given  agricultural  students  as  to  students 
who  expect  to  work  in  factories,  while  the  work  to  be  done  by  the  farmer  in  the  use 
of  machines  and  tools  is  of  a  radically  different  character.  On  the  farm  one  man 
must  do  many  kinds  of  work  and  hence  must  use  many  different  kinds  of  tools;  in 
shops  and  factories  one  man  does  one  thing  or  a  few  things  only.  This  highly 
developed  specialization  produces  efficient  labor.  A  man  uses  a  tool  until  he  under- 
stands it  thoroughly,  recognizes  immediately  any  defect,  acquires  a  feeling  of  owner- 
ship in  it,  gives  it  constant  care,  and  is  often  able  to  make  improvements  in  its  con- 
struction. All  this  is  very  different  in  the  experience  of  the  farmer.  He  uses  one 
machine  only  a  short  time  and  then  must  take  up  another.  What  is  learned  about 
the  construction  and  use  of  a  machine  at  one  time  is  largely  lost  before  it  is  again 
called  into  use.  The  result  of  all  this  is  that  the  farmer  fails  to  develop  that  interest 
and  mechanical  sense  which  are  necessary  to  the  highest  efficiency  in  the  operation 
of  the  complex  machinery  which  now  forms  a  part  of  the  equipment  of  every 
modern  farm. 

The  records  of  the  last  census  show  that  over  one  hundred  million  dollars  worth 
of  farm  machinery  is  made  and  sold  each  year.  The  saving  which  would  come  to 
the  people  of  this  country  by  extending  the  life  of  each  machine  one  year  would  be 
an  immense  addition  to  the  annual  profits  of  our  farmers.  This  saving  can  be  more 
than" realized  and  it  can  be  augmented  by  the  greater  efficiency  which  would  come 
from  expert  care  and  management.  At  present  it  is  notorious  that  the  American 
farmer,  with  all  his  mechanical  aptitude  and  inventive  skill,  is  behind  the  other 
leading  agricultural  countries  in  his  management  and  care  of  agricultural  machinery. 
It  is  believed  that  this  is  largely  due  to  the  neglect  of  this  subject  in  our  schools. 
In  Germany,  France,  and  more  recently  in  England,  a  well-equipped  laboratory  for 
testing  agricultural  machines  and  a  museum  filled  with  samples  of  machines  of  dif- 
ferent patterns  for  examination  by  students  is  held  to  be  as  essential  to  proper 
instruction  as  a  chemical  laboratory.  The  first  floor  of  the  agricultural  high  school 
at  Berlin  contains  a  museum  in  which  are  found  the  best  types  of  agricultural  imple- 
ments of  the  United  States,  England,  and  Germany.  The  student  who  makes  proper 
use  of  that  museum  has  a  better  understanding  of  the  principles  which  govern  the 
construction  of  the  tools  he  is  to  use  and  the  modifications  to  conform  to  different 
uses  than  it  would  be  possible  for  him  to  acquire  in  any  other  way,  and  it  is  a  kind 
of  training  especially  demanded  by  the  conditions  of  American  farm  life. 

This  training  in  the  agricultural  institutions  of  Germany  is  regarded  there  as  of  the 
highest  value  not  only  by  farmers  but  by  manufacturers.  It  gives  them  trained 
workmen  in  their  shops;  it  gives  them  trained  agents  to  extend  their  export  trade  in 
different  countries.  The  union  of  agricultural  and  mechanical  knowledge  in  their 
employees  and  agents  has  enabled  German  implement  makers  to  greatly  increase 
their  export  trade,  and  it  is  believed  that  the  same  result  would  follow  similar  train- 
ing here.  If  we  are  to  maintain  our  standing  as  a  producing  and  manufacturing 
nation  we  must  maintain  our  superiority  as  designers  and  users  of  farm  machinery, 
and  this  can  be  best  promoted  by  bringing  the  trained  intelligence  of  the  experts  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  of  the  students  and  professors  of  our  agricultural 
colleges  to  bear  on  this  problem.  A  few  colleges  have  created  departments  for  instruc- 
tion in  certain  branches  of  rural  engineering,  the  departments  of  irrigation  engineer- 

21730— Xo.  142—04 0 


82 

ing  in  Colorado  and  California  being  illustrations  of  this,  and  a  number  of  colleges 
are  now  considering  the  establishment  of  courses  in  rural  engineering  with  farm 
mechanics  as  the  leading  feature,  and  there  is  much  interest  in  the  development  of 
these  courses  as  independent  lines  of  work.  Among  these  are  the  colleges  of  agricul- 
ture in  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  and  North  Dakota.  In  each  case  this 
work  has  been  inaugurated  as  a  branch  of  instruction  in  agronomy.  While  this  may 
answer  as  a  beginning,  the  importance  of  the  allied  branches  of  rural  engineering 
taken  together  entitles  it  to  be  made  an  independent  department  of  instruction,  hav- 
ing equal  rank  with  agronomy  or  animal  industry  as  they  have  been  established  in  a 
number  of  institutions.  The  scheme  outlined  in  the  fifth  report  of  the  committee  on 
methods  of  teaching  agriculture,  and  published  in  Circular  45  of  the  Office  of  Experi- 
ment Stations,  brings  together  in  a  logical  way  the  scattered  instruction  which  bears 
on  this  branch  of  agriculture  and  furnishes  a  systematic  and  well-rounded  course. 
Such  departments  are  needed  to  furnish  opportunities  for  specialization  by  students 
who  wish  to  prepare  themselves  for  leadership  along  these  lines  of  work,  and  would 
furnish  a  field  for  experimentation  and  systematic  training  for  farmers  in  the  sub- 
jects which  to-day  constitute  the  most  important  factors  in  the  expenses  and  profits 
of  American  agriculture. 

The  same  policy  should  be  followed  in  the  organization  of  the  work  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture.  This  Department  is  now  doing  important  and  useful  work  in  a 
number  of  branches  of  rural  engineering,  but  its  influence  on  the  development  of  the 
country  and  the  effectiveness  of  the  investigators  would  be  greatly  promoted  if  all  of 
these  related  lines  of  work  were  gathered  together  in  one  division,  instead  of  being 
made  simply  incidents  of  the  work  of  several  bureaus  organized  to  do  other  things,  as 
is  now  the  case.  It  is  believed  that  the  importance  of  these  subjects  warrants  the 
adoption  of  this  plan  at  an  early  date.  One  of  the  reasons  for  believing  this  is  the 
consideration  given  to  these  subjects  in  other  countries  where  their  importance  is  far 
less  than  with  us.  The  bureau  of  hydraulic  agriculture  is  one  of  the  leading  bureaus 
of  the  agricultural  department  of  France.  It  includes  only  drainage  and  irrigation. 
The  relative  importance  of  these  subjects  in  France  and  this  country  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  France  has  only  400,000  acres  of  irrigated  land,  while  we  have  nearly 
8,000,000  acres  irrigated,  and  the  work  is  still  in  its  infancy.  In  France  irrigation  is 
not  a  necessity — only  an  aid  to  agriculture.  In  two-fifths  of  the  United  States  it  is  a 
necessity  for  civilized  life.  Furthermore,  the  conditions  which  have  been  created  in 
this  country  by  the  character  of  our  irrigation  development  give  to  the  irrigation 
investigations  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  a  significance  and  importance  not 
possessed  by  similar  work  in  any  other  country  in  the  world. 

Over  8,000,000  acres  of  sagebrush  desert  land  has  been  reclaimed  by  the  unaided 
efforts  of  farmers,  without  any  assistance  from  either  the  Federal  Government  or 
the  States,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  produce  good  crops.  This  task  is  one  of  the  great- 
est achievements  of  the  agricultural  classes  of  this  or  any  other  continent.  It  has 
involved  an  amount  of  experimenting  and  a  waste  of  money  in  failures  and  partial 
failures  which  is  inconceivable  to  those  not  practically  familiar  with  western  condi- 
tions. This  task,  however,  has  not  been  completed.  Some  of  the  most  difficult 
problems  yet  remain  to  be  solved.  Some  of  the  things  which  remain  to  be  done  are 
to  determine  the  amount  of  water  which  each  farmer  should  receive,  and  to  provide 
for  an  equitable  distribution  of  the  waters  of  streams.  The  uncertainty  regarding 
rights  to  water  is  one  of  the  grievous  evils  which  confront  western  farmers.  It  is 
believed  that  if  these  rights  were  so  well  established  and  protected  that  each  farmer 
could  know  certainly  that  in  times  of  scarcity  he  would  receive  his  proper  share  the 
value  of  each  one  of  these  8,000,000  acres  would  be  increased  on  an  average  at  least 
$5,  or  an  aggregate  of  $40,000,000  in  all.  But  this  is  only  one  feature  of  the  gain. 
Such  a  change  will  put  an  end  to  litigation  and  to  the  enormous  expenditure  of  time 
and  money  which  it  involves. 

The  watering  of  8,000,000  acres  of  land  involves  the  handling  of  an  enormous 
quantity  of  water  each  year.  If  this  water  could  be  transferred  from  the  streams  to 
the  field  with  the  same  system  and  skill  that  is  exercised  in  the  operation  of  some 
of  our  railroads,  or  that  is  shown  in  the  distribution  of  water  in  some  of  the  best 
districts  of  Italy  and  France,  the  gain  in  the  saving  of  water  and  in  the  increased 
production  of  crops  would  be  something  enormous.  At  present  in  many  parte  of 
the  West  there  is  either  a  very  defective  system  or  no  system  at  all,  and  a  com- 
petent investigator  has  estimated  that  we  are  losing  each  year  at  least  $10,000,000 
on  account  of  the  faulty  distribution  of  appropriated  waters.  These  figures  arc  sutli- 
cient  to  show  the  necessity  for  a  systematic  study  of  these  questions  by  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  and  to  show  also  why,  with  the  increase  in  the  cultivated  area 
which  18  each  year  going  on,  the  necessity  for  these  investigations  and  their  import- 
ance to  the  whole  country  is  destined  to  increase. 


83 

There  is  no  country  where  drainage  problems  arc  as  important  as  in  the  United 
States.  The  swamp  and  overflowed  lands  of  this  country  if  reclaimed  will  equal  in 
productive  capacity  practically  the  whole  of  France,  yet  the  problems  of  drainage 
and  diking,  on  which  their  successful  reclamation  depends,  have  as  yet  received  hut 
little  study,  and  the  practice  in  both  directions  is  susceptible'  of  great  improvement. 

The  construction  of  country  roads  is  an  essential  feature  of  rural  engineering.  The 
great  extent  of  our  country,  its  recent  settlement,  and  the  necessity  for  extensive 
improvements  in  those  directions  make  it  an  important  factor  in  the  work  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture.  The  necessity  for  improvements  in  roads  has  been 
referred  to  above,  bnt  the  study  of  the  character  of  these  improvements  involves  also 
a  study  of  the  kind  of  machines  and  vehicles  that  are  to  travel  on  them.  Along  with 
the  study  of  road  making  should  go  a  study  of  the  limitations  and  requirements  of 
traction  engines,  automobiles,  and  all  of  the  new  forms  of  transportation  which  are 
becoming  an  essential  factor  of  American  farm  life.  The  relation  of  the  problems  of 
farm  machinery  to  irrigation  and  drainage  has  already  been  shown  by  the  necessity 
of  including  in  these  investigations  a  study  of  the  applications  of  power  to  pumping, 
because  pumping  is  the  only  means  of  supplying  water  for  irrigation  in  certain  dis- 
tricts and  an  essential  means  of  removing  water  from  over  "rrigated  lands  in  others. 
The  study  of  pumping  has,  of  necessity,  led  to  a  study  of  the  relative  economy  and 
effectiveness  of  different  forms  of  power  for  the  operation  of  pumps.  There  is  equal 
need  of  similar  studies  of  the  applications  of  the  different  forms  of  power,  whether 
steam,  gasoline,  electricity,  water,  or  wind  power  in  the  other  branches  of  farm  work, 
and  these  are  being  brought  home  each  year  with  increasing  force  to  both  the  manu- 
facturers and  users  of  farm  machinery.  "We  believe,  therefore,  that  all  these  related 
lines  of  work  should  be  brought  together  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture  in  a  single 
bureau,  exactly  as  all  the  related  lines  of  instruction  in  these  subjects  should  be 
brought  together  in  one  distinct  course  in  our  college-. 

The  necessity  for  increased  attention  to  those  subjects  has  been  recognized  by  both 
the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  and  the  Director  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations. 
Doctor  True  has  recommended  that  the  name  "irrigation  investigations''  be  changed 
to  "  irrigation  and  agricultural  engineering"  in  order  to  more  correctly  indicate  the 
nature  of  the  work  being  done,  and  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  Doctor  True,  has  included  in  his  estimates  to  C  mgress  a  request  for  this  change 
and  for  an  increase'!  appropriation  to  be  expended  in  making  investigations  in  the 
applications  of  power  to  farm  machinery,  the  direction  of  these  inquiries,  as  indi- 
cated in  Doctor  True's  report,  to  be: 

"(1)  Preliminary  work  in  the  collection  and  publication  of  information  regarding 
the  evolution,  character,  and  uses  of  farm  implements  and  machinery  in  this  and 
other  countries.  This  is  important  because  the  available  literature  on  the  subject  is 
scattered,  fragmentary,  and  out  of  date.  A  small  beginning  has  just  been  made  in 
this  direction  in  a  bulletin  on  The  Evolution  of  Reaping  Machines,  recently  pub- 
lished by  this  Office,  and  another  bulletin  describing  corn-harvesting  machinery, 
which  is  being  prepared. 

"(2)  Laboratory  and  practical  tests,  involving  a  study  of  principles  of  construction 
and  methods  of  operation  of  farm  implements  and  machinery  with  special  reference 
to  efficiency  and  economy.  These  might  very  properly  include  certain  strictly  tech- 
nical inquiries  regarding  the  fundamental  nature  of  the  various  mechanical  farm 
operations  with  a  view  to  suggesting  the  best  means  of  performing  them  with  the 
implements  and  machines  at  present  available,  or  with  others,  the  construction  of 
which  will  be  indicated  by  the  results  of  the  inquiries.  Such  inquiries  would  require 
considerable  laboratory  equipment,  but  the  results  obtained  would  be  useful  to  the 
farmer  by  securing  for  him  the  most  efficient  implement  or  machine  for  performing 
the  desired  operation,  and  to  the  manufacturer  by  assisting  him  in  the  construction 
of  the  desired  implements  and  machines."' 

This  committee  recommends  that  the  association  declare  itself  in  favor  of  the  crea- 
tion of  separate  departments  of  rural  engineering  in  the  colleges,  that  it  give  its 
hearty  support  to  the  efforts  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  to  extend  the  work  of 
his  Department  along  these  lines,  and  that  the  executive  committee  be  instructed  to 
urge  upon  Congress  the  importance  of  giving  the  Department  liberal  appropriations 
for  these  purposes. 

AY.  E.  Stone. 
A.  R.  Whetson, 
Samuel  Forties, 
C.  F.  Curtiss, 
Elwood  Mead, 

Committee, 

The  report  was  received. 


84 

J.  H.  Sheppero,  of  North  Dakota.  In  connection  with  this  report  T  wish  to  state 
that  we  have  been  able  to  get  a  great  deal  of  very  intelligent  help  from  the  linns  of 
the  country  dealing  in  fanning  implements  and  machines.  With  us,  the  agents  for 
such  machines  now  realize,  although  they  did  not  do  so  at  first,  that  it  will  not  do  for 
them  to  pursue  any  narrow  policy;  that  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  discuss  the  merits 
of  these  various  machines  with  us  on  general  principles  and  on  a  broad  basis  rather 
than  to  support  in  any  narrow  way  any  particular  make  of  machine. 

During  the  winter  we  have  found  that  our  work  fitted  in  very  well  with  the 
machine  and  implement  business,  because  during  that  season  their  most  expert  men 
were  at  liberty;  and  the  different  firms  seemed  to  be  very  glad  to  send  us  a  very  high 
class  of  men  to  handle  and  explain  the  machines  sent  by  them,  and  we  found  advan- 
tage in  discussing  with  these  men  the  adaptation  of  their  machines  to  our  different 
soil  and  crop  conditions. 

We  are  fortunately  located  at  Fargo,  because  this  city  ranks  second  or  third  in  the 
United  States  in  the  amount  of  farm-implement  business.  We  are  thus  enabled  to 
have  a  good  and  varied  stock  of  implements  presented  for  our  inspection.  After  the 
implement  men  understood  what  we  were  trying  to  accomplish  there  was  no  trouble 
in  getting  machines,  or  parts  of  machines,  or  anything  they  could  furnish  us  to  help  out 
in  our  work.  The  only  trouble  sometimes  was  in  finding  available  space  for  the 
proper  exhibition  of  the  different  implements  or  machines. 

C.  F.  Curtiss,  of  Iowa.  The  report  of  this  committee  is  certainly  very  comprehensive, 
valuable,  and  timely.  It  will,  I  think,  be  of  great  service  to  our  different  institutions 
throughout  the  country.  It  has  been  customary  heretofore  to  publish  the  reports  of 
the  committee  on  methods  of  teaching  agriculture  in  circular  form.  I  trust  that  policy 
will  be  continued.  I  merely  wish  to  suggest  that  this  report  be  either  included  in 
full  in  the  regular  report  of  our  proceedings,  or  that  it  be  published  as  a  separate 
circular,  in  which  form  it  might  go  to  the  colleges  in  larger  numbers  and  more  con- 
venient form  than  if  it  were  simply  a  part  of  the  regular  proceedings  of  the  convention. 

B.  C.  Buffum,  of  Wyoming.  I  think  this  matter  is  one  of  very  great  importance  to 
many  of  our  institutions,  and  I  should  be  glad  to  see  this  association  express  its 
sympathy  with  this  work  and  its  interest  in  it,  I  therefore  move  that  it  is  the  sense 
of  this  association  that  we  approve  Secretary  Wilson's  efforts  to  extend  the  work 
along  the  lines  of  agricultural  engineering  in  the  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture and  to  cooperate  with  the  stations  in  such  work. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to. 

Uniform  Fertilizer  and  Feeding-Stuffs  Laws. 

H.  J.  Wheeler,  of  Rhode  Island.  The  report  of  the  committee  on  this  subject 
was  presented  to  the  association  (p.  31)  and  subsequently  referred  to  the  Section  on 
Agriculture  and  Chemistry.  That  section  adopted  sections  1  to  (i  of  the  report  relating 
to  uniformity  in  the  laws  in  relation  to  feeding  stuffs  in  the  several  States  and  in 
regard  to  making  such  legislation  operative.  It  is  desirable  that  the  association  as  a 
whole  should  now  act  upon  these  recommendations.  They  have  already  been  read, 
so  that  perhaps  it  is  unnecessary  to  read  them  again. 

The  amendments  agreed  upon  in  the  section  are  as  follows: 

In  the  second  paragraph  of  the  report  insert  "peas  "  after  "  broom  corn." 
At  the  end  of  the  fourth  paragraph  add  "and  a  maximum  of  liber  which  shall 
not  be  exceeded." 

In  the  sixth  paragraph,  after  the  words  "determinations  of,"  insert  "crude  fiber." 
In  the  sixth  paragraph  strike  out  all  after  "provisions"  in  the  second  line. 

On  objection  being  raised  to  the  first  recommendation  of  the  committee  regarding 
the  method  of  defraying  the  expenses  of  inspection,  the  report  was  accepted  as  a 
report  of  the  section  on  agriculture  and  chemistry,  with  the  understanding  that  the 
matter  is  to  be  brought  up  for  the  action  of  the  association  at  the  next  convention. 


85 

Experiment  Station  Record. 

The  resolution  on  this  subject  offered  by  C.  E.  Thorne,  of  Ohio  (p.  62),  was 
reported  by  the  executive  committee  in  the  following  modified  form  and  recom- 
mended for  adoption: 

Resolved,  That  we  respectfully  request  the  Director  of  the  Office  of  Experiment 
Stations  to  include  in  the  Experiment  Station  Record  not  only  the  titles,  but  more 
generally  brief  abstracts  of  the  publications  of  foreign  agricultural  experiment  sta- 
tions and  kindred  institutions,  and  that  the  executive  committee  be  instructed  "to 
present  the  matter  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  give  such  aid  as  may  be 
appropriate  to  secure  the  object  of  this  resolution." 

A.  C.  True.  If  I  may  be  allowed  a  brief  statement  by  way  of  explanation  of  this 
matter,  I  would  say  that,  in  the  Experiment  Station  Record  as  at  present  made  up 
there  is  a  very  large  element  of  foreign  literature.  The  point  really  under  considera- 
tion is  the  extension  of  that  element,  especially  in  the  direction  of  making  the 
abstracts  longer,  more  definite  and  elaborate.  Now,  this  seems  to  me  on  the  whole 
desirable,  provided  it  can  be  done  in  a  proper  wray.  The  effort  of  the  Office  now  is 
to  utilize  its  present  force  and  resources  very  fully  in  its  different  lines  of  work;  and 
so  far  as  the  Experiment  Station  Record  is  concerned,  a  special  effort  has  been  made 
to  bring  that  review  up  to  date  and  to  make  it  comprehensive.  We  are  now  trying 
to  cover  in  a  general  way  all  the  literature  of  agricultural  science  and  to  bring  our 
review  to  the  attention  of  our  readers  as  promptly  as  possible. 

When  we  consider  that  in  addition  to  the  station  publications  and  the  Department 
publications,  and  the  fugitive  publications  of  various  kinds  irregularly  issued,  more 
than  a  thousand  periodicals  are  regularly  received  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
wThich  must  be  examined  by  the  editors  of  the  Experiment  Station  Record,  and  that 
about  two-thirds  of  these  publications  are  in  foreign  languages,  an  idea  may  be 
gained  of  the  magnitude  of  the  task  which  we  have  on  our  hands  in  the  preparation 
of  this  journal. 

Now,  we  desire  to  do  very  fully  wThat  this  association  and  the  institutions  repre- 
sented here  desire  that  we  shall  do  in  this  matter;  but  we  feel  also  very  strongly  that 
we  can  not  do  any  more  than  we  are  doing  at  present  with  the  means  at  our  disposal 
and  the  force  which  we  are  able  to  employ. 

C.  E.  Thorne,  of  Ohio.  I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  my  resolution  is 
in  no  sense  a  criticism,  but  just  the  opposite.  It  is  because  I  have  found  the  Record, 
so  far  as  it  goes,  so  very  valuable  to  me  in  my  work  that  I  want  more  of  so  good  a 
thing;  and  it  is  because  I  have  realized  in  my  administration  of  the  finances  of  the 
Ohio  Station  that,  when  a  work  is  blocked  out  on  a  certain  scale,  it  is  impossible  to 
extend  that  wrork  without  additional  appropriations  that  I  inserted  a  clause  in  the 
resolution  requesting  the  executive  committee  to  take  such  action  as  might  be 
necessary  to  assist  in  getting  the  additional  appropriations. 

I  realize  that  the  additional  work  contemplated  by  this  resolution  is  a  very  large 
element.  It  means  the  employment  of  several  additional  assistant  editors  for  the 
editorial  corps  of  the  Record;  and  these  must  be  experts  in  a  number  of  these  foreign 
languages.  But  there  is  work  being  done  in  these  foreign  countries  and  published 
in  foreign  languages  of  which  we  can  not  afford  to  be  ignorant.  We  all  recognize 
the  admirable  work  which  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  has  done.  This  publi- 
cation, the  Experiment  Station  Record,  wrould  abundantly  justify,  without  anything 
else,  all  that  has  been  given  this  Office  from  the  United  States  Treasury.  It  is 
because  of  the  admirable  way  in  which  the  work  of  that  Office  has  been  done,  the 
abundant  facilities  that  it  has  for  the  extension  of  this  work — facilities  which  can 
not  be  duplicated  anywhere  else — that  I  felt,  if  we  could  heartily  stand  behind  the 
Office  and  support  it  in  its  wTork  and  ask  it  to  go  still  further,  it  would  be  a  very 
great  thing  for  the  whole  work  here  in  America. 

The  resolution  was  adopted. 


86 

Military  Instruction  in  Land-Grant  Colleges. 

E.  B.  Andrews.  Agreeably  to  the  notice  which  I  took  the  liberty  of  giving,  I  offer 
the  following  resolution  with  reference  to  military  instruction  in  land-grant  colleges: 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  on  military  instruction  is  directed  to  try  and  secure 
some  modification  of  War  Department  General  Orders  No.  94,  relating  to  military 
instruction  in  the  land-grant  colleges,  abolishing  the  fixed  live-hour  per  week 
requirement  for  military  instruction,  and  allowing  such  colleges  larger  liberty  in 
arranging  their  programme  of  weekly  exercises. 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  is  further  directed  to  submit  to  the  association  at  its 
next  convention  a  draft  of  recommendation  to  be,  if  approved,  urged  upon  Congress 
Looking  to  more  complete  provision  for  the  military  instruction  required  of  the  land- 
grant  colleges. 

C.  E.  Coates,  Jr.,  of  Louisiana.  I  thoroughly  approve  the  resolution  just  read,  but  I 
should  like  to  offer  a  brief  amendment  to  it.  It  so  happens  that  the  State  which  I 
represent  has  a  very  strong  military  spirit  indeed,  and  it  has  been  found  perfectly 
practicable  there  to  carry  out  a  system  of  military  instruction  and  discipline  very 
closely  analagous  to  that  at  West  Point.  Nevertheless,  it  has  been  found  impossible 
to  comply  with  the  order  of  the  War  Department  in  reference  to  this  matter.  We 
have  been  giving  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  formulating  of  a  course  in  military 
instruction  and  discipline,  a  course  which  in  general  would  comply  with  the  spirit 
of  the  law7.  But  we  have  found  considerable  difference  of  opinion  on  this  subject 
among  various  institutions  throughout  the  country.  In  the  course  of  an  investiga- 
tion into  this  subject  I  found — not  very  greatly  to  my  surprise,  for  I  already  knew 
the  facts  to  some  extent — that  there  is  great  variation  among  the  land-grant  colleges 
in  the  methods  of  procedure  and  the  time  allotted  to  this  matter  of  military 
instruction. 

Now,  as  the  bond  of  obligation  in  this  matter  lies  equally  strong  on  every  land- 
grant  college,  I  think  it  would  be  well  for  this  committee  to  report  at  the  next  meet- 
ing of  the  association  some  recommendation  in  plain  figures  as  to  what  would  meet 
the  obligations  of  these  schools  along  these  lines.  I  therefore  move  that  this  com- 
mittee, in  addition  to  their  present  duties,  be  asked  to  formulate  some  definite  line 
of  military  instruction  to  which  in  their  judgment  it  is  advisable  for  all  the  colleges 
to  attempt  to  approximate.  It  is  not  perhaps  advisable  that  such  a  scheme  should 
be  binding  on  any  particular  college  that  might  wish  to  give  more  or  less  than  the 
prescribed  time  to  this  study;  but  I  suggest  that  the  committee  formulate  some  defi- 
nite general  scheme  of  military  instruction  to  which  in  their  judgment  it  is  advisable 
for  most  of  our  colleges  to  approximate  to. 

J.  L.  Snyder,  of  Michigan.  lam  in  sympathy  with  the  views  expressed  by  the 
gentleman  who  has  just  taken  his  seat;  but  I  do  not  believe  it  would  be  best  to  adopt 
his  amendment  as  a  rider  to  this  resolution.  I  second  the  resolution  of  President 
Andrews,  and  shall  be  glad  later  to  second  the  proposition  of  the  gentleman  from 
Louisiana. 

The  resolution  of  President  Andrews  was,  with  the  approval  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee, adopted. 

A  resolution  by  C.  E.  Coates,  jr.,  of  Louisiana,  favorably  reported  by  the  executive 
committee,  was  subsequently  read  and  adopted,  as  follows: 

Resolved,  Thai  this  association  recognizes  fully  the  value  of  the  results  aimed  at  by 
General  Orders  No.  94,  of  the  War  Department;  and  in  order  to  reach  those  results 
most  effectually, 

That  the  committee  on  military  affairs  be  requested  to  collect  statistics  on  what  is 
now  being  done  in  military  training  in  land-grant  colleges,  including  time  devoted  to 
drill,  detailed  duty,  etc.; 

That  the  committee  secure  expressions  of  opinion  on  the  effect  of  such  training 
upon  academic  work; 

That  it  formulate  a  scheme  of  military  instruction  to  be  recommended  for  general 


87 

adoption,  such  scheme  to  contain  details  as  to  time  allotted,  as  to  the  classes  taking 
the  work,  and  as  to  the  methods  of  instruction;  it  hein«z  understood  that  the  recom- 
mendation is  to  be  in  no  wise  mandatory  on  any  given  college. 

Plans  for  New  Buildings,  Department  of  Agriculture. 

B.  T.  Galloway,  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  of  the  V.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture,  briefly  explained  the  tentative  plans  and  specifications  of  the  proposed 

new  buildings  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Organization  of  Section  on  College  "Work  and  Administration. 

W.  E.  Stone,  of  Indiana.  Mr.  President,  the  newly  organized  section  on  college 
work  and  administration  held  a  preliminary  meeting  yesterday  afternoon  and 
appointed  its  permanent  officers  and  also  selected  three  members  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  association,  as  provided  for  in  the  newly  revised  constitution.  The 
officers  of  the  section  for  the  ensuing  year  are  as  follows: 

Chairman,  W.  E.  Stone,  of  Indiana;  secretary,  G.  E.  Fellows,  of  Maine. 

The  section  also  appointed  as  a  committee  to  have  charge  of  the  programme  for  the 
next  year,  the  chairman,  the  secretary,  and  one  member  of  the  section — Professor 
Tyler,  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology.  The  three  appointments  for 
members  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  association  are  President  H.  C.  White,  of 
Georgia;  President  G.  W.  Atherton,  of  Pennsylvania;  and  President  J.  L.  Snyder, 
of  Michigan. 

Organization  of  Section  on  Experiment  Station  Work. 

H.  P.  Armsby,  of  Pennsylvania,  reported  the  organization  of  the  section  on  experi- 
ment station  work,  with  officers  as  follows: 

Chairman,  E.  H.  Jenkins,  of  Connecticut;  secretary,  M.  A.  Scovell,  of  Kentucky. 
Members  of  the  executive  committee:  W.  H.  Jordan,  of  New  York;  C.  F.  Curtiss, 
of  Iowa.  Committee  on  programme:  J.  H.  Shepperd,  of  Xorth  Dakota;  B. W.  Kilgore, 
of  Xorth  Carolina;  M.  A.  Scovell,  of  Kentucky  (see  also  p.  192). 

The  reports  of  the  organization  of  the  two  sections  were  received  and  ordered  to  be 
placed  on  file. 

Election  of  Officers. 

On  nomination  of  W.  D.  Gibbs,  of  Xew  Hampshire,  seconded  by  C.  F.  Curtiss,  of 
Iowa,  W.  O.  Thompson,  of  Ohio,  was  unanimously  elected  president  of  the  associa- 
tion for  the  ensuing  year. 

By  vote  of  the  association  the  rules  were  suspended  and  the  secretary  was  instructed 
to  cast  the  ballot  of  the  convention  for  other  officers,  who  were  declared  elected,  as 
follows: 

First  vice-president,  D.  F.  Houston,  of  Texas,  nominated  by  W.  A.  Henry,  of 
Wisconsin;  second  vice-president,  J.  C.  Hardy,  of  Mississippi,  nominated  by  W.  M. 
Liggett:  third  vice-president,  J.  H.  Worst,  of  Xorth  Dakota,  nominated  by  T.  E. 
Miller,  of  South  Carolina;  fourth  vice-president,  H.  J.  Wheeler,  of  Rhode  Island, 
nominated  by  H.  P.  Armsby.  of  Pennsylvania;  fifth  vice-president,  B.  C.  Buffum,  of 
Wyoming,  nominated  by  B.  W.  Kilgore,  of  Xorth  Carolina;  secretary  and  treasurer, 
E.  B.  Voorhees,  of  Xew  Jersey,  nominated  by  J.  L.  Snyder,  of  Michigan;  bibliog- 
rapher, A.  C.  True,  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  nominated  by  H.  P.  Armsby. 

Place  of  Xext  Meeting  of  Convention. 

An  invitation  to  hold  the  next  convention  at  Portland,  Oreg.,  was  received  and 
referred  to  the  executive  committee. 


88 

Resolution  of  Thanks. 

H.  C.  White,  from  the  executive  committee,  reported  back  favorably  the  following 
resolution  offered  by  H.  H.  Goodell,  of  Massachusetts,  which  was  considered  and 
adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  cordial  thanks  of  the  association  are  due  and  are  hereby  ten- 
dered to — 

•    (1)  His  Excellency  the  President  of  the  United  States,  for  the  courtesy  and  hearti- 
ness of  his  reception  of  the  association; 

(2)  Hon.  James  Wilson,  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  for  official  and  social  attentions 
shown  the  association; 

(3), The  officials  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  many  and  valuable  services 
by  which  the  business  of  the  convention  has  been  greatly  expedited; 

(4)  The  members  of  the  press  for  full  and  accurate  reports  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  convention; 

(5)  The  management  of  the  Shoreham  Hotel  for  courtesies  greatly  contributing  to 
the  comfort  and  convenience  of  those  in  attendance  upon  the  convention. 

The  convention  then  adjourned  sine  die. 


MINUTES  OF  THE  SECTIONS. 


SECTION  ON  COLLEGE  WORK. 


Meetings  of  this  section  were  held  on  the  afternoons  of  November  18  and  19.  1903. 

In  the  absence  of  J.  W.  Heston,  of  South  Dakota,  secretary  of  the  section,  ( r.  E. 
Fellows,  of  Maine,  was  elected  secretary  pro  tern. 

The  following  paper,  read  by  W.  O.  Thompson,  of  Ohio,  was  received  with  hearty 
approval,  and  was  discussed  at  considerable  length  by  G.  T.  Winston,  of  North  Caro- 
lina; and  in  a  brief  manner  by  D.  P.  Purinton,  of  West  Virginia:  E.  Davenport,  of 
Illinois;  C.  E.  Coates,  jr.,  of  Louisiana;  L.  H.  Bailey,  of  Xew  York;  C.  G.  Hopkins 
of  Illinois. 

The  Mission  of  the  Laxd-Graxt  Colleges. 

The  history  of  the  movement  out  of  which  the  land-grant  colleges  have  grown 
began  on  Monday,  December  14,  1857,  and  the  Hon.  Justin  S.  Morrill,  then  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress,  introduced  the  first  bill.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  somewhat 
stormy  debate.  His  first  request  was  that  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Agri- 
culture. After  some  debating,  on  the  loth  the  bill  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Public  Lands.  On  the  15th  of  the  following  April  the  hill  was  reported  back  to  the 
House  adversely  by  Mr.  Cobb,  of  Alabama.  The  bill  passed  the  House  April  28, 
1 858,  by  a  vote  of  105  in  the  affirmative  and  100  in  the  negative.  Mr.  Morrill's  argu- 
ment in  support  of  the  bill  was  chiefly  from  the  side  of  agriculture.  He  presented 
statistics  showing  that  the  conditions  of  agriculture  in  many  regions  were  growing 
less  favorable  and  that  the  products  of  the  soil  were  decreasing  to  such  a  degree  as 
to  endanger  the  perpetual  prosperity  of  that  great  industry.  The  decrease  in  the 
number  of  animals  and  the  somewhat  widespread  discouragement  in  the  older  States 
led  him  to  make  a  strong  plea  for  such  provision  as  would  eventually  prevent  the 
exhaustion  of  the  soil  and  maintain  the  permanent  prosperity  of  the  farmers. 

Some  argument  was  made  on  behalf  of  mechanic  arts,  but  the  main  emphasis  was 
given  to  the  need  of  agricultural  education.  It  was  his  claim  that  the  measure  was 
"no  less  of  public  good  than  of  public  justice — just  politically,  just  to  all  the  States, 
and  just,  above  all,  to  the  manhood  of  our  country."  I  quote  further:  "We  exert  our 
power  and  expend  millions  to  protect  and  promote  commerce  through  light-houses, 
coast  surveys,  improvement  of  harbors  and  through  our  Xavy  and  naval  academies. 
Our  military  'crown  jewels'  are  manufactured  at  West  Point  on  Government  ac- 
count. We  make  immense  grants  of  lands  to  railroads  to  open  new  fields  of  internal 
trade.  We  secure  to  literary  labor  the  protection  of  copyright.  We  encourage 
the  growth  and  discipline  of  hardy  seamen  by  eking  out  their  scanty  rewards 
through  governmental  bounties.  We  secure  to  ingenious  mechanics  high  profits  by 
our  system  of  patent  rights.  We  make  munificent  grants  to  secure  general  education 
in  all  of  the  new  States,  but  all  public  encouragement  to  agriculture  has  been  rigidly 
withheld." 

During  the  progress  of  this  speech  Mr.  Morrill  covered  in  a  comprehensive  way  the 
conditions  of  the  country;  the  importance  of  agriculture;  of  mechanic  arts  and  the 
right  of  these  interests  to  consideration.  He  showed  an  accurate  and  comprehensive 
grasp  of  the  problems  that  are  now  being  wrought  out  in  these  colleges.  He  dwelt 
rather  more  upon  the  importance  of  experimentation  than  is  in  accord  with  present 
policies  in  the  colleges.  He  seems  at  this  point  to  have  covered  the  field  now  occu- 
pied by  the  experiment  stations.  The  trend  of  the  argument  was  to  the  effect  that 
the  education  of  the  country  was  incomplete,  and  that  some  such  provision  as  was 
made  in  this  bill  was  necessary  in  order  to  give  opportunity  to  all  classes  of  our 
people.  He  met  strongly  the  constitutional  objection  that  had  been  urged  and  that 
was  urged  to  the  last. 


90 

It  is  worth  while  to  note  in  the  discussion  of  this  bill  that  the  opposition,  as  rep-v 
resented  by  Mr.  Cobb,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands,  discussed  very 
strongly  two  points — first,  that  the  bill  was  unconstitutional,  and,  second,  that  it 
was  against  public  policy.  It  was  further  argued  that  the  effects  of  the  bill  were 
uneven  and  therefore  to  that  degree  unjust. 

The  constitutional  argument  was  based  on  the  doctrine  of  limited  powers  in  a 
federal  government.  It  was  argued  that  the  bill  was  an  interference  with  the  rights 
of  the  States  in  controlling  matters  of  education  which  were  local.  The  power  of 
Congress  to  donate  the  public  lands  was  distinctly  denied. 

On  April  23  the  bill  was  reported  back  to  the  Senate  and  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Public  Lands.  On  May  6  the  bill  was  reported  back  to  the  Senate  by  Mr.  Stuart 
without  recommendation.  Here  the  bill  had  a  tortuous  road.  It  seems  impossible 
not  to  conclude  that  the  opponents  of  the  bill  used  every  effort  to  avoid  a  vote.  Mr. 
Push,  of  Ohio,  in  the  progress  of  the  debate  submitted  a  veto  of  President  Pierce  of 
a  bill  for  the  benefit  of  the  indigent  insane.  The  aim  of  this  was  to  emphasize  that 
the  proposed  measure  was  not  entirely  different  from  the  one  hitherto  vetoed  and 
therefore  against  public  policy.  President  Pierce  had  argued  against  the  constitu- 
tionality of  the  measure  referred  to  above.  Senator  Pugh,  of  Ohio,  desired  to  rein- 
force that  argument  and  apply  it  to  the  bill  for  the  aid  of  colleges  of  agriculture.  He 
further  argued  that  the  entire  subject  of  education  was  a  local  question  with  which 
the  States  only  should  deal.  He  protested  against  the  measure  as  an  invasion  of  the 
rights  of  the  States.  He  further  argued  against  the  measure  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  disposition  of  the  public  lands.  Mr.  Rice,  of  Minnesota,  joined  in  this  protest, 
not  only  on  constitutional  grounds,  which  he  affirmed,  but  on  the  grounds  that  it 
gave  the  monopoly  of  lands  within  the  limits  of  one  State  to  another  State  and  thus 
brought  about  conflicting  interests.  He  argued  that  it  was  not  only  unconstitutional, 
but  unjust.  His  words  are:  "I  look  upon  the  success  of  this  measure  as  bringing 
death  almost  to  Minnesota;  not  sudden  destruction,  but  that  slow,  lingering  decay 
which  eats  into  and  gradually  destroys  every  community  whose  energies  are  con- 
fined by  combinations  of  nonresident  proprietors.  The  State  that  I  represent  is  one 
of  the  richest,  largest,  and  fairest  in  the  Union.  Pass  this  bill  and  within  six  months 
the  agents  of  nonresidents  will  traverse  her  limits  for  the  purpose  of  culling  out  over 
the  entire  State  the  choicest  lands  held  by  actual  settlers,  thus  blighting,  like  the 
locusts,  every  region  that  may  attract  them  by  its  richness  or  its  beauty."  (Globe, 
Pt.  I,  2d  sess.,  35th  Cong.,  p.  717.) 

Senator  Mason,  of  Virginia,  used  these  remarkable  words  (p.  718,  supra):  "To 
my  conception  it  is  one  of  the  most  extravagant  engines  of  mischief  under  the  guise 
of  gratuitous  donation  that  I  can  conceive  could  originate  in  the  Senate.  It  is  using 
the  public  lands  as  a  means  of  controlling  the  power  of  the  State  legislatures.  It  is 
misusing  the  property  of  the  country  in  such  mode  as  to  bring  the  appropriate  func- 
tions of  a  State  entirely  within  the  scope  of  the  bill  under  the  discretion  of  Congress 
by  a  controlling  power,  and  it  is  doing  it  in  the  worst  and  most  insidious  form — by 
bribery,  direct  bribery  of  the  worst  kind;  for  it  is  an  unconstitutional  robbing  of  the 
treasury  for  the  purpose  of  bribing  States."  Senator  Mason  further  argues  that 
"direct  appropriations  were  just  as  legitimate  as  this  use  of  the  public  lands." 

Senator  Greene,  of  Missouri  (supra,  720),  argued  also  that  the  donation  of  lands  was 
equivalent  to  the  donation  of  money. 

Senator  Simmons,  of  Rhode  Island,  argued  strongly  for  the  appropriations  in  the 
seminary  grants,  the  grants  for  common  schools,  and  the  appropriations  to  support 
the  schools  for  army  and  navy  officers. 

Senator  Clement  C.  Clay,  jr.,  of  Alabama,  taunted  the  Democratic  members  who 
seemed  to  favor  the  bill  as  forsaking  their  historic  constitutional  ground  and 
attempted  to  give  the  measure  a  party  flavor.  He  argued  against  it  as  extravagance 
in  the  presence  of  the  country's  need,  that  it  was  really  not  desired  by  the  honest  tillers 
of  the  soil,  that  the  measure  itself  was  intended  to  promote  agriculture,  and  that  its 
result  would  be  the  education  of  men  for  other  pursuits  in  life.  He  regarded  the  bill 
as  humiliating  to  the  States,  and  made  a  strong  plea  for  its  defeat  on  the  ground  that 
it  opened  the  door  and  practically  left  no  limit  to  Federal  patronage  of  private  inter- 
ests within  the  States. 

Notwithstanding  this  vigorous  debate  the  bill  was  passed  in  the  Senate,  by  a  vote 
of  25  to  22,  on  the  7th  of  February,  1859.  On  February  26  President  Buchanan 
sent  his  veto  to  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  President's  objections  to  this 
bill  were,  first,  the  poverty  of  the  country  at  the  time  the  bill  was  passed;  second, 
he  objected  to  the  intermingling  of  the  functions  of  the  General  and  State  govern- 
ments in  the  matter  of  education,  believing  that  they  should  be  kept  distinct  and 
separate;  third,  he  thoroughly  believed  the  bill  would  work  injury  to  the  new  States: 
fourth,  he  doubted  whether  the  bill  would  contribute  to  the  advancement  of  agricul- 


91 

ture  and  mechanic  arts;  fifth,  it  would  interfere  with  existing  colleges  in  the  several 
States,  on  the  ground  that  sciences  and  classical  studies  would  not  be  excluded; 
sixth,  he  argued  against  the  constitutionality  of  the  measure. 

Immediately  after  the  veto  of  this  measure  Mr.  Morrill  attempted  to  have  it 
passed  over  the  President's  veto  but  failed,  the  vote  being  105  in  the  affirmative  and 
96  in  the  negative.  In  the  remarks  submitted  at  that  time  Mr.  MorriU  very  briefly 
but  clearly  denied  the  partisan  character  of  the  measure;  submitted  that  it  had  the 
support  of  the  agricultural  interests  throughout  the  whole  country;  corrected  some 
errors  of  the  President  concerning  the  revenues  from  the  public  lands;  denied  the 
intermingling  of  the  State  governments  and  the  General  Government,  the  injuries  to 
the  new  States;  and,  in  fact,  met  every  objection,  as  it  now  seems,  fairly  and  squarely 
that  the  President  had  submitted  in  his  veto  message. 

This,  however,  closed  the  history  of  this  remarkable  measure.  It  is  introduced 
here  in  this  paper  simply  to  recall  to  mind  that  nearly  every  important  considera- 
tion for  or  against  the  bill  was  presented  at  that  time.  Doubtless  Mr.  Morrill 
secured  the  material  for  his  argument  from  the  advocates  of  the  bill  the  country 
over,  but  it  is  interesting  to  observe  that  in  his  first  speech  in  favor  of  the  bill,  after 
its  introduction  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  he  covered  every  essential  point 
and  made  the  argument  so  complete  that  subsequent  debates  seemed  only  an  echo  of 
what  he  had  already  given  to  the  country. 

THE   SECOND   BILL. 

The  death  of  the  first  bill  by  veto  did  not  defeat  the  cause.  On  December  16, 
1861,  Mr.  Morrill  reintroduced  the  measure  which  again  was  reported  back  unfavor- 
ably. In  the  following  June,  1862,  Mr.  Morrill  attempted  to  offer  a  substitute  for 
this  bill  and  asked  leave  to  have  it  printed,  but  objection  being  offered  the  matter 
went  over.  Meantime,  on  May  5,  1862,  Senator  Wade,  of  Ohio,  introduced  the  same 
measure  into  the  Senate.  On  May  16  the  bill  was  reported  back  with  amendments 
from  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands  by  Mr.  Harland,  of  Iowa.  In  the  Senate  the 
bill  passed  through  a  series  of  debates.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  from  the  State 
of  Kansas  we  hear  the  argument  that  the  disposition  of  public  lands  as  proposed 
would  ruin  that  State.  The  argument  is  given  presentation  also  from  the  State  of 
Minnesota.  The  amendments  and  debates  at  this  time  were  chiefly  upon  the  details 
with  reference  to  the  locating  of  the  lands.  Mr.  Lane,  of  Kansas,  however,  did  come 
forward  and  object  to  the  passage  of  the  bill  "as  an  old-line  Democrat."  This  was 
the  only  appearance  of  party  feeling  revealed  in  the  debate.  Finally,  on  June  10, 
the  bill  passed  the  Senate  by  a  vote  of  32  to  7.  A  week  later,  on  June  17,  the  bill 
was  taken  up  in  the  House  by  Mr.  Morrill  and  pushed  to  an  issue  and  on  that  day, 
by  a  vote  of  90  to  25,  was  passed.  The  bill  was  signed  by  President  Lincoln,  July  1, 
and  reported  to  the  House  on  July  2,  1862,  and  thus  became  a  law. 

The  purpose  of  this  measure  is  set  forth  in  section  4  and  found  in  the  familiar 
words:  "  College  where  the  leading  object  shall  be,  without  excluding  other  scien- 
tific and  classical  studies,  and  including  military  tactics,  to  teach  such  branches  of 
learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  in  such  manner  as  the 
legislatures  of  the  States  may  respectively  prescribe,  in  order  to  promote  the  liberal 
and  practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and  pro- 
fessions in  life." 

I  presume  it  would  be  fair  to  interpret  this  statute  in  the  light  of  the  debate  which 
led  to  its  enactment.     I  submit  the  following  observations: 

First.  Evidently  there  was  no  design  to  cast  any  reflection  upon  education  as  it 
was  then  encouraged.  There  was  an  evident  feeling,  however,  that  the  so-called 
classical  or  literary  education  did  not  meet  the  demand;  indeed,  the  approval  of  that 
kind  and  type  of  education  is  legitimately  in  the  statute.  Any  fair  interpretation  of 
the  expression  "without  excluding  other  scientific  and  classical  studies' '  will  recognize 
general  approval  of  the  then  existing  methods  in  education. 

Second.  This  statute  was  intended  to  introduce  new  lines  of  education.  It  was 
intended  to  provide  what  was  not  already  provided.  It  was  to  meet  the  need  that 
had  existed  but  hitherto  had  been  unrecognized.  This  statute  recognizes  the 
industrial  classes  in  the  field  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts  as  substantially 
unprovided  for  beyond  the  opportunities  in  the  public  schools.  It  is  worthy  of  note, 
however,  that  at  the  date  of  this  statute  the  public  school  system  wras  a  long  way 
from  its  present  efficiency.  It  was  generally  conceded  that  the  wealthy  classes  and 
the  favored  classes  were  able  to  take  care  of  themselves.  The  older  institutions 
were  somewhat  aristocratic  in  their  original  conception.  They  appealed  largely  to 
the  favored  classes  and  by  easy  processes  neglected  the  large  masses  of  the  people. 
This  statute  was  a  distinct  effort  to  extend  a  form  of  higher  education  to  a  class  of 
people  hitherto  unreached. 


92 

Third.  This  statute  evidently  brings  in  the  new  conception  of  what  we  now  term 
higher  education.  Jt  evidently  carries  with  it  the  doctrine  that  education  other  than 
classical  and  scientific,  in  the  general  conception  of  the  word,  is  to  be  regarded  as  of 
equal  importance  with  education  at  that  time  in  vogue.  It  is  interesting  here  to 
observe  that  the  trend  of  educational  sentiment  in  this  country  since  the  adoption 
of  the  elective  idea  has  steadily  been  toward  the  conception  of  higher  education,  as 
set  forth  in  the  Morrill  Act.  It  is  clear  now  that  classical  education  is  liberal  educa- 
tion. It  is  also  clear  that  some  other  kinds  of  education  are  equally  liberal.  The 
land-grant  colleges  in  putting  emphasis  upon  this  type  of  education  are  steadily 
winning  for  themselves  recognition.  The  sneers  that  were  not  uncommon  in  earlier 
daye  are  becoming  rare.  The  genuinely  liberal  people  of  the  country  have  come  to 
recognize  that  there  maybe  two  good  things  in  the  same  world.  It  is  no  longer 
believed  that  we  should  cultivate  by  the  processes  of  higher  education  one,  arid  only 
one,  type  of  manhood  or  of  character.  A  civilization  of  such  great  variety  as  ours 
finds  easy  place  tor  an  equally  great  variety  of  tastes  and  of  education. 

Fourth.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  statute  means  exactly  what  it  says,  that 
the  leading  object  of  these  colleges  shall  be  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts. 
Precedence  is  always  to  be  given  to  these  subjects.  My  understanding  of  this  is  that 
they  were  to  be  chiefly  schools  of  applied  science.  The  existing  conditions  of  the 
country  demand,  of  course,  that  foundations  shall  be  laid  with  this  end  in  view. 
The  sciences  related  to  agriculture  and  the  sciences  related  to  mechanic  arts  are  to 
be  the  chief  subjects  of  instruction  and  investigation.  Underlying  the  whole  con- 
ception of  this  statute  and  running  through  the  entire  argument  that  was  made  for  it 
was  the  doctrine  that  the  pursuits  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts  demanded  specific 
training  in  order  to  bring  about  the  highest  development  of  efficiency  in  the  indus- 
trial classes  and  the  promotion  of  these  great  interests  in  the  country.  The  statute 
does  not  lose  sight  of  the  importance  of  other  forms  of  industry  or  of  labor,  but  it 
keeps  in  full  view  the  importance  of  these  fundamental  industries.  It  emphasizes 
in  these  colleges,  as  it  is  emphasized  nowhere  else,  the  importance  of  this  type  of 
education. 

Fifth.  In  my  judgment  a  subordinate  place  is  given  in  this  statute  to  military 
tactics.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  subject  is  to  be  treated  unfairly  or  with  little 
respect;  but  that  the  organization  of  these  institutions  is  primarily  in  the  interest  of 
industry  and  not  of  war.  They  are  a  preparation  for  a  peaceful  life  rather  than  for 
strife.  I  understand  it,  therefore,  to  be  the  duty  or  the  mission,  if  we  prefer  that 
expression,  of  these  colleges  to  keep  faith  with  the  Government  in  both  particulars. 
We  are  primarily  educational  institutions  of  the  industrial  sort  rather  than  of  a  military 
type.  We  recognize  to  the  fullest  extent  the  importance  of  military  tactics,  but  "the 
precedence  of  these  institutions  is  not  given  to  military  tactics.  My  own  interpre- 
tation of  the  statute  is  that  general  science,  classical  studies,  and  military  tactics  are 
on  substantially  the  same  level.  They  occupy  a  position  of  honor.  No  discredit 
may  be  attached  to  any  of  them.  They  are  rightfully  in  these  schools,  but  they  may 
not  take  precedence  over  the  others. 

In  the  statute  of  1890,  subsequently  enacted,  there  is  provision  that  the  money 
therein  provided  shall  be  applied  only  to  "instruction  in  agriculture,  the  mechanic 
arts,  the  Fmglish  language,  and  the  various  branches  of  mathematical,  physical, 
natural,  and  economic  sciences,  with  special  reference  to  their  application  in  the 
industries  of  life  and  to  the  facilities  for  such  instruction."  The  debate  that  led  up 
to  this  provision  made  clear  the  fact  that  the  United  States  intended  the  money  to 
be  applied  as  set  forth  in  the  above  proviso.  It  has  been  supposed  that  this  second 
act  of  1890  was  in  a  degree  an  interpretation  of  the  act  of  1862.  In  the  debates  on 
the  second  bill  there  was  manifestly  a  feeling  that  some  of  the  land-grant  colleges 
had  not  kept  strictly  within  the  limits  of  the  act  of  1862.  The  provision  just  recited 
makes  it  clear  that,  by  the  application  of  the  proceeds  of  the  second  act  to  certain 
specific  subjects,  the  educational  work  in  these  colleges  will  put  the  desired  emphasis 
upon  industrial  education.  This  in  no  way  was  an  interference  with  the  text  of  the 
first  statute,  and  in  my  judgment  is  not  an  exclusive  interpretation  as  regards  gen- 
eral sciences  or  classics. 

There  would  doubtless  be  a  more  general  acquiescence  in  the  use  of  the  funds  pro- 
vided for  in  this  act  for  instruction  in  general  science  than  there  would  be  for 
classics.  There  could  not  have  been  such  a  presentation  to  the  Congress  in  behalf 
of  classical  education  as  would  have  made  the  bill  possible.  The  subjects  of_  instruc- 
tion herein  provided  were  believed  then,  and  history  has  confirmed  the  belief,  to  be 
such  as  would  minister  efficiently  to  the  public  welfare.  They  may  legitimately  be 
regarded  as  a  means  of  national  development,  The  provision  of  a  pu rely  classical 
education  was  not  necessary.  Facilities  for  that  were  substantially  abundant  to 
meet  reasonable  demands.     The  uprising  of  the  land-grant  colleges  has  met  another 


93 

and  a  distinct  need,  and  at  the  same  time  has  had  a  modifying  influence  upon  insti- 
tutions already  in  existence.  Where  the  land-grant  colleges  are  combined  with 
State  universities,  or  where  the  State  supplements  the  national  grant  by  money,  it 
would  seem  entirely  proper,  therefore,  to  pursue  work  in  general  science  and  classics. 
In  the  State  universities  where  the  combination  is  complete  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  classical  and  literary  departments  should  not  be  as  supreme  and  superior 
in  their  lines  as  the  colleges  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  are  in  theirs.  In 
this  class  of  institutions  the  colleges  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  as  in  the 
Ohio  State  University,  for  example,  are  really  separate  colleges.  The  aim  in  such 
institutions  is  to  bring  these  colleges  to  the  highest  point  01  excellence.  This  we 
interpret  to  be  entirely  in  accord  with  the  text  of  the  bill  requiring  "  the  leading 
object"  to  be  in  these  lines.  However,  in  States  where  agriculture  and  the  mechanic- 
arts  colleges  are  distinct  institutions  from  the  State  university  or  from  the  literary 
college,  it  would  seem  to  be  a  wise  policy  not  to  attempt  any  such  development-  in 
the  fields  of  general  science  or  of  classics  as  would  give  second  place  to  agriculture 
and  the  mechanic  arts.  Our  care  should  be  that  since  the  State  must  provide  for 
this  expense  it  should  avoid  duplication.  Another  reason  lies  in  the  fact  that  an 
attempt  of  that  sort  might  be  construed  as  an  effort  to  avoid  a  literal  obedience  to 
the  organic  law  of  the  institution. 

Sixth.  Another  consideration  is  submitted,  namely,  that  the  aim  of  the  education 
provided  for  in  the  Morrill  Act  was  the  liberal  as  well  as  the  practical  education  of 
the  industrial  classes.  I  understand  the  conception  of  education  here  to  be  that  the 
type  of  education  provided  for  in  the  so-called  agricultural  and  mechanic-arts  col- 
leges is  a  liberal  education.  It  recognizes  that  the  literary  form  of  education  was  a 
liberal  education;  so  without  excluding  these  forms  we  intend  to  promote  the  liberal 
education  of  the  industrial  classes.  I  do  not  understand  that  this  signifies  that  only 
the  classical  education  is  to  be  interpreted  as  liberal,  but  that  the  technical  educa- 
tion here  provided  is  both  liberal  and  practical.  I  have  long  believed  that  classical 
education  was  both  liberal  and  practical,  but  the  world  in  general  has  not  believed 
that,  nor  has  the  so-called  liberally  educated  world  believed  that  the  so-called 
practical  education  was  liberal.  The  work  of  these  colleges  is  yet  in  its  infancy,  and 
we  have  not  had  opportunity  to  prove  beyond  doubt  that  this  practical  education  is 
of  such  character  as  to  warrant  being  called  liberal.  The  signs,  however,  all  point 
in  that  direction.  It  seems,  therefore,  the  opportunity  of  the  land-grant  colleges  by 
their  fruits  to  prove  that  the  liberalized  soul  may  work  the  skillful  hand  or  associate 
itself  with  technical  knowledge  or  practical  science. 

Seventh.  I  offer  another  observation,  namely,  that  it  is  important  not  to  lose  sight 
of  the  fact  that  these  land-grant  colleges  are  really  national  institutions.  They  were 
founded  upon  the  doctrine  that  the  public  domain  should  serve  the  people.  The 
Nation  having  jurisdiction  over  this  domain  has  wisely,  we  believe,  turned  its 
proceeds  over  in  a  large  measure  to  a  system  of  education  prior  to  that  time  very 
much  neglected.  The  growth  and  development  of  these  colleges  have  been  beyond  all 
reasonable  expectation.  They  have  called  out  the  sympathetic  cooperation  of  the 
local  communities  and  States  in  which  they  are  located.  They  have  been  a  bond  of 
union  in  educational  circles,  and  have  done  much  to  dignify  industrial  education. 
Indeed,  I  believe  that  the  industrial  feature  in  these  institutions  has  emphasized  in 
a  practical  way  what  many  people  have  held  as  a  theory,  namely,  that  industry  is 
our  great  national  virtue.  While  giving  equal  emphasis  with  all  other  colleges  to 
the  importance  and  dignity  of  scholarship,  culture,  and  character,  they  have  em- 
phasized the  place  of  industry  as  a  formative  element  in  both  individual  character 
and  national  civilization.  With  the  rapid  accumulation  of  wealth  among  our  people 
it  seems  of  the  highest  importance  that  we  have  means  of  technical  education.  It 
seems  important  that  both  the  farmer  and  the  mechanic,  along  with  men  engaged 
in  other  pursuits  of  life,  shall  be  intelligent  and  efficient  men.  This  will  be  our  sate 
protection  against  the  classification  of  society.  It  is  absolutely  impossible  in  a 
democracy  to  level  down.  It  is  a  tremendous  problem  to  level  up.  These  land- 
grant  colleges  are  serving  a  great  purpose  in  leveling  up.  Xo  nation  has  ever  decayed 
or  declined  for  lack  of  wealth.  The  classics  of  Greece  did  not  serve  her.  The 
strongly  centralized  government  of  Rome  was  not  everlasting.  Our  country  will 
find  its  future  largely  and  more  largely  in  the  minds  and  hands  of  men  who  know 
her  industries  from  the  standpoint  of  science.  We  are  growing  so  rapidly  in  both 
wealth  and  all  forms  of  material  civilization  that  many  people  have  not  stopped  to 
consider  that  an  economic  use  of  the  world  is  imperative.  There  is  no  known  limit 
to  society's  ability  to  enjoy  the  possible  comforts  of  the  world.  Agriculture  and 
mechanic  arts,  speaking  broadly,  lie  at  the  basis  not  only  of  our  wealth,  but  of  much  of 
our  enjoyment.  It  is  to  the  men  who  have  the  training  for  which  these  institutions 
stand  that  we  shall  look  in  the  future  for  preserving  and  enlarging  those  phases  of  life 


94 

ministered  to  by  the  material  advances  of  the  world.  We  shall  look  to  these  men 
to  hand  the  world  to  succeeding  generations  as  a  precions  heritage  rather  than  a 
wasted  and  worn-out  patrimony. 

At  the  very  outset  of  the  first  Morrill  bill  important  emphasis  was  laid  upon  the 
necessity  of  preserving  the  fertility  and  fruitfulness  of  the  soil.  It  was  recognized 
that  this  could  be  done  o  ly  by  the  faithful  application  of  scientific  methods  to  agri- 
culture. There  are  people  now  who  do  not  appreciate  the  importance  of  doing  this, 
but  every  year  makes  increasing  demands,  and  we  must  recognize  it  as  a  wise  policy 
for  a  country  of  such  breadth  to  be  able  to  maintain  its  own  existence.  Further,  the 
debate  revealed  the  desire  to  provide  such  an  education  as  would  make  men  efficient 
in  the  industries.  No  doubt  the  emphasis  there  was  upon  men  as  producers.  I 
desire  to  put  the  emphasis  to-day  quite  as  strongly  upon  men  as  preservers.  Igno- 
rance is  a  synonym  for  waste;  intelligence  is  a  synonym  for  economy.  The  loco- 
motive with  its  splendid  achievements  has  for  years  been  a  very  expensive  necessity. 
Transportation  will  not  long  endure  the  wastefulness  of  these  years  past.  More  eco- 
nomic methods  are  in  demand.  This  only  leads  to  a  scientific  problem  that  must  be 
solved.  There  are  hundreds  of  these  problems  to  which  educated  men  and  women 
must  address  themselves  if  the  permanent  prosperity  of  the  world  is  to  be  preserved. 
1  believe,  therefore,  that  these  land-grant  colleges  should  be  regarded  as  institutions 
for  national  preservation.  More  directly,  perhaps,  than  any  others  there  is  a  national 
patriotism  in  them.  We  believe  in  education  not  only  for  the  sake  of  the  individual, 
but  for  the  sake  of  the  Nation.  Asa  group  they  now  comprise  the  strongest  and 
most  efficient  agency  for  applied  science  in  the  Nation.  They  are  in  the  freshness 
of  their  youth,  but  will  in  future  years  render  a  service  of  increasing  importance  with 
increasing  appreciation. 

The  subject  of  short  courses  was  informally  but  quite  fully  discussed  by  E.  R. 
Nichols,  of  Kansas;  C.  E.  Coates,  jr.,  of  Louisiana;  G.  E.  Fellows,  of  Maine;  H.  H. 
Goodell,  of  Massachusetts;  G.  A.  Harter,  of  Delaware;  E.  A.  Bryan,  of  Washington; 
C.  Northrop,  of  Minnesota;  R.  W.  Stimson,  of  Connecticut,  and  J.  C.  Hardy,  of 
Mississippi. 

Nearly  all  were  agreed  that  the  short  course  should  not  be  taken  by  young  students 
who  might  profitably  pursue  agricultural  high  school  or  college  courses,  and  that  no 
credits  for  degrees  should  be  given  for  short-course  work.  H.  H.  Goodell  stated  that 
at  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College  short-course  students  have  taken  agricul- 
ture, horticulture,  bee  culture,  etc.,  in  the  regular  college  classes.  This  plan  was 
criticised  by  several,  President  Northrop  laying  especial  emphasis  on  the  desirability 
of  keeping  the  short-course  wrork  outside  of  the  circle  of  regular  college  work. 
He  considered  the  short  courses  as  "charitable  or  benevolent  appendages"  on  the 
college,  allowable  only  when  they  will  not  detract  from  the  efficiency  of  the  regular 
college  work.  R.  W.  Stimson  considered  short  courses  as  pioneer  work,  more  or 
less  temporary  expedients,  for  the  purpose  of  extending  the  influence  of  the  college 
and  of  drawing  students  to  the  long  courses. 

In  the  subsequent  informal  discussion  the  idea  was  advanced  that  young  students 
should  go  to  agricultural  high  schools  or  colleges,  and  older  students  should  get  their 
instruction  in  farmers'  institutes  and  like  organizations.  In  opposition  to  this  plan 
J.  C.  Hardy  contended  that  there  is  a  wide  gap  between  the  farmers'  institute  and 
the  agricultural  high  school,  and  the  technical  instruction  of  all  grades  should  be 
provided  for,  either  in  the  agricultural  colleges  or  in  special  schools  organized  for 
the  purpose. 

In  accordance  with  the  amended  constitution  this  section  reorganized  under  the 
name  of  the  Section  on  College  AVork  and  Administration.  (For  officers  elected  see 
p.  87.) 


95 


SECTION  ON  AGRICULTURE  AND  CHEMISTRY. 


The  first  meeting  of  this  section  was  called  to  order  at  2  o'clock  p.  in.,  November 
17,  in  the  banquet  hall  of  the  Shoreham,  by  the  chairman,  ('.  <>.  Hopkins,  of  Illi- 
nois, at  whose  request  B.  W.  Kilgore,  of  North  Carolina,  took  the  chair  pro  tempore. 

C.  G.  Hopkins,  of  Illinois,  read  the  following  paper: 

The  Present  Status  of  Soil  Investigate 

The  permanent  maintenance  of  the  productive  capacity  of  the  soil  is  a  subject 
which'transcends  all  other  sul  ejects  in  its  importance  to  American  agriculture,  if  not, 
indeed,  in  its  importance  to  the  American  people. 

Does  not  the  ultimate  position  or  final  destiny  of  America  rest  upon  the  question 
whether  the  crop-producing  power  of  our  soils  shall  continue  gradually  to  be  reduced 
or  whether  it  shall  be  increased,  or  at  least  maintained?  We  need  not  ask  whether 
the  fertility  of  the  soil  can  be  absolutely  and  completely  exhausted.  The  funda- 
mental question  is.  Will  the  system  of  farming  which  we  practice  or  advise  ultimately 
reduce  the  productive  capacity  of  the  soil? 

Because  of  the  present  very  general  interest  in  soils  and  soil  investigations,  it  seems 
especially  appropriate  to  discuss  this  general  subject  at  the  present  time.  Surely 
there  is  no  subject  pertaining  to  agricultural  science  and  practice  regarding  which 
there  is  such  a  diversity  of  opinion  as  the  subject  of  soil  improvement  for  increased 
crop  production.  Both  practical  farmers  and  even  eminent  scientific  authorities  dis- 
agree almost  absolutely  on  some  fundamental  principles.  Indeed,  these  differences 
of  opinion  are  so  marked  and  so  frequent  that  I  feel  compelled  to  ask,  in  language 
which  has  recently  been  declared  to  be  grammatical,  "  Where  are  we  at?"  To  illus- 
trate: 

There  is  a  large  class  of  fruit  farmers  who  practice  and  advocate  clean  cultivation 
of  orchard  soils,  sometimes  with  a  cover  crop  during  the  latter  part  of  the  season; 
while  another  class  of  successful  fruit  growers  maintain  and  strongly  advocate  a  con- 
tinuous grass  cover  kept  under  suitable  control.  Some  of  the  important  details  of 
this  practice  are  included  in  what  is  sometimes  called  the  ''Hitching  system"  of 
orchard  cultivation.  So  tar  as  can  be  learned,  the  advocates  of  each  system  are 
equally  positive  that  their  practice  is  vastly  superior  to  the  other.  It  is  extremely 
doubtful  if  an  absolutely  fair  and  complete  test  has  been  made  of  the  comparative 
value  of  the  two  methods.  It  seems  difficult,  for  example,  for  the  advocates  of  clean 
cultivation  to  understand  that  a  permanent  grass  cover  can  mean  anything  else  but 
an  ordinary  hay  field  or  an  unrestrained  growth  of  grass  and  weeds. 

Again,  there  are  about  75,000,000  pounds  of  nitrogen  resting  upon  every  acre  of  the 
earth's  surface,  and  the  investigations  of  several  American  experiment  stations,  espe- 
cially those  of  Delaware,  Illinois,  and  Canada,  have  furnished  abundant  evidence 
that  under  proper  conditions  nitrogen  can  be  obtained  from  the  atmosphere  for  the 
use  of  farm  crops  at  a  cost  of  about  1  cent  a  pound.  On  the  other  hand,  several 
other  experiment  stations,  as  New  Jersey  and  Ohio,  advocate  the  purchase,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  of  commercial  nitrogen,  at  a  cost  of  15  cents  a  pound,  for  use  on 
ordinary  farm  crops,  such  as  corn,  oats,  wheat,  or  timothy. 

Dr.  Bernard  Dyer,  one  of  the  eminent  English  authorities  on  scientific  agriculture, 
even  advocates  the  purchase  and  use  of  sodium  nitrate  for  growing  leguminous  crops, 
especially  for  alfalfa.  &  From  our  own  investigations  in  Illinois  we  have  conclusive 
proof  that  at  15  cents  a  pound  we  have  obtained  at  least  (45  worth  of  nitrogen  from 
the  atmosphere  per  acre  per  annum  by  means  of  alfalfa  properly  infected  with  the 
alfalfa  bacteria  and  provided  with  suitable  soil  conditions,  free  from  acidity  and  well 
supplied  with  the  mineral  elements  of  plant  food,  and  the  evidence  strongly  indi- 
cates that  even  much  more  nitrogen  than  that  was  obtained  from  the  air.-'  Dyer 
does  not  state,  bo  far  as  I  can  learn,  whether  his  alfalfa  was  well  infected  with  the 
proper  bacteria.  If  not,  of  course  the  application  of  sodium  nitrate  would  be  expected 
to  produce  a  marked  effect. 

Bee  also  Illinois  Sta.  Ciiv.  72. 
^Reprint  from  Trans.   Highland  and  Agr.  -  -  otland,  5.  Ber.,  14  (1902):  also 

Reprint  from  Jour.  Roy.  Hort.  Boa,  27     19Q2  .  No,  4. 

<-' Illinois  Sta.  Bui.  76". 


96 

In  America  we  commonly  harvest  from  5  to  8  tons  of  alfalfa  per  acre  during  the 
season,  and  a  total  yield  of  iO  tons  of  well-cured  hay  is  not  infrequent,  and  no  nitro- 
genous fertilizer  is  used.  Dyer  does  not  give  his  yield  of  cured  hay,  but  he  reports 
the  average  annual  yield  of  green  or  freshly  cut  alfalfa  forage  as.  shown  in  the  fol- 
lowing table: 

4.1/cUfa  yields  in  fertilizer  experiments  (Bernard  Dyer). 


Plant  food  applied. 

Green 

alfalfa 

per  acre. 

Plant  food  applied. 

Green 

alfalfa 
per  acre. 

Tons. 
11.4 
L4.2 

Phosphates,  potash,  2  cwt.  nitrate 

Phosphates,  potash.  4  cwt.  nitrate 

Tons. 

15.9 

Phosphates,  potash,  l  cwt.  nitrate 

14.8 

Dyer  estimates  the  value  of  the  green  forage  at  $2.50  a  ton,  and  as  the  cured  hay 
would  certainly  be  worth  at  least  $10  a  ton  in  England,  it  seems  safe  to  conclude 
that  the  highest  yield  which  he  obtained,  even  with  the  use  of  sodium  nitrate,  did 
not  exceed  4  tons  per  acre.  This  is  less  than  the  increase  only  which  has  been 
obtained  by  proper  inoculation.  It  should  also  be  stated  that  the  annual  application 
of  potassium  in  Dyer's  experiments  was  less  than  would  be  contained  in  2  tons  of 
ordinary  alfalfa  hay,  and  the  question  arises  whether  the  effect  of  the  sodium  nitrate 
in  increasing  the  yield  of  alfalfa  may  not  have  been  due  in  part  at  least  to  the  liber- 
ation of  potassium  from  the  soil  by  the  addition  of  sodium,  or  even  to  the  partial 
substitution  of  sodium  for  potassium  by  the  alfalfa  plant.  Results0  obtained  at 
Woburn  by  the  agricultural  experiment  station  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of 
England  tend  to  confirm  the  suspicion  that  the  benefit  of  the  sodium  nitrate  was 
indirect,  to  some  extent  at  least,  as  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  following  table: 

Alfalfa  yields  in  fertilizer  experiments  at  Woburn. 


Plat 
No. 


Annual  fertilizer  per  acre. 


None 

8  hundredweight  phosphates  « 

1  bund  re<  1  weight  potassium  sulphate 

2  hundredweight  ammonium  sulphate 

•1  hundredweight  sodium  nitrate 

Phosphates, a  potash,  and  ammonium  sulphate 
Phosphates, «  potash,  and  sodium  nitrate 


Green  alfalfa 
per  acre. 


1897. 


Tons. 

15.0 
16.0 
17.3 
12.1 
17.2 
22. 1 
23.9 


iv.  is. 


Tons. 


8.5 
12.1 

8.0 
11.1 
16.6 
16.4 


"4  hundredweight  superphosphate  and  4  hundredweight  hone  dust. 

It  will  be  observed  that  potassium  sulphate  produced  a  higher  yield  than  sodium 
nitrate,  the  difference  being  greater  the  second  year  than  the  first.  Dyer  makes  no 
comment  on  this  fact,  but,  in  referring  to  the  effect  of  nitrogen,  he  says:  "The  bad 
effect  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  used  alone  on  plat  4  is  probably  due  to  the  scarcity  of 
lime  in  the  soil,  which  is  unsuitable  for  the  continuous  use  of  this  fertilizer  unless 
lime  be  occasionally  applied,  either  as  lime  or  in  some  such  form  as  basic  slag  or  bone 
meal.  In  conjunction,  however,  with  bone  dust,  superphosphate,  and  sulphate  of 
potash,  sulphate  of  ammonia  has  produced  a  substantial  increase.  Nitrate  of  sot  la, 
even  without  the  use  of  mineral  fertilizers,  has  produced  a  very  remunerative  return 
in  these  two  years,  but  it  has  done  far  better  in  conjunction  with  mineral  fertilizers." 

These  conclusions  are  not  justified  by  the  data  given,  because  of  the  fact  that  there 
was  no  plat  fertilized  with  phosphorus  and  potassium  without  nitrogen.  Each  of 
the  elements  phosphorus  and  potassium,  when  used  singly,  proved  beneficial  (except 
in  1898  the  acid  phosphate  appears  to  have  produced  an  injurious  effect  upon  the 
alfalfa,  probably  due  to  its  increasing  the  acidity  of  the  soil),  and  if  both  mineral 
elements  had  been  applied  to  one  plat  no  doubt  the  yield  would  have  been  larger 
than  where  either  one  was  used  alone.  Furthermore,  if  the  soil  were  acid,  as  Dyer 
evidently  believes,  it  was  unsuited  for  the  alfalfa  bacteria. 

The  fact  that  reprints  of  Dyer's  reports,  advocating  the  use  of  sodium  nitrate  for 
leguminous   crops,    are   being   very   widely   circulated   in   America,   presumably   by 


"Jour.  Royal  Agr.  Soc,  December,  1899  (through  reprint  of  Dyer's  report). 


97 

parties  interested  in  selling  nitrates,  certainly  justifies  calling  special  attention  to 
this  marked  disagreement  among  scientists  as  to  the  wisdom  or  economy  of  purchas- 
ing nitrogen  for  the  use  of  legumes. 

The  agricultural  experiment  stations  are  becoming  more  and  more  responsible  for 
the  methods  of  soil  management  which  are  being  practiced  in  thiscountry.  We  stand 
as  the  guardian  of  the  fertility  of  American  soils.  If  leguminous  crops  do  not  obtain 
sufficient  atmospheric  nitrogen,  is  it  not  our  business  to  discover  why  they  do  not. 
and  then  to  advocate  a  system  of  soil  treatment  or  soil  management  which  shall 
enable  legumes  to  obtain  from  the  free  and  absolutely  inexhaustible  supply  of  the 
atmosphere  all  of  the  nitrogen  which  they  need  for  maximum  yields?  By  proper 
inoculation  we  have  grown  a  crop  of  alfalfa  which  contained  as  high  as  seventeen 
times  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  which  was  contained  in  a  crop  grown  without  inocu- 
lation, but  otherwise  under  exactly  the  same  conditions  and  in  soil  which  last  year 
produced  more  than  60  bushels  of  corn  per  acre. 

Director  Thorne,  of  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station,  unquestionably  one  of  our  most 
careful  and  exact  agricultural  investigators,  has  fully  demonstrated  during  the  past 
dozen  years  that  a  five-year  rotation  of  corn,  oats,  wheat,  clover,  and  timothy,  when 
grown  on  certain  Ohio  soils,  does  not  secure  sufficient  atmospheric  nitrogen  for 
maximum  crops.  He  has  also  obtained  abundant  proof  that  the  purchase  and  use 
of  commercial  nitrogen  in  that  rotation,  either  alone  or  in  combination  with  other 
elements,  is  attended  with  financial  loss,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  data 
taken  from  the  recently  issued  Ohio  Station  Bulletin  No.  141: 

Fertilizers  for  wops  grown  in  fire-year  rotation  in  Ohio. 


Soil 
plat 
num- 
ber. 


Plant  food  applied. 


Nitrogen 

Phosphorus 

Potassium 

Nitrogen,  phosphorus 

Nitrogen,  potash 

Phosphorus,  potash 

Nitrogen,  phosphorus,  potash 
Nitrogen,  phosphorus,  potash 
Nitrogen,  phosphorus,  potash 
Nitrogen,  phosphorus,  potash 


Cost  of 

plant 

food  in 

fivevears 


$12. 00 

2.40 

6.50 

14.40 

18. 50 

8.90 

20.  90 

2(5.  90 

14.30 

7.70 


Wooster  field. 


Value  of    Profit  (  +  ) 
increase,  or  loss  (— ). 


$5. 64 
11.40 

4.44 
22.  05 

6.24 
16.57 
27.83 
28. 97 
22.  70 
15. 57 


-%.  36 
+  9.00 
-  2.06 
+  7.65 
-12.26 
+  7.67 
+  6.93 
+  2.07 
+  8.40 
+  7.87 


Strongsville  field. 


Value  of    Profit  (  +  ) 
increase,  or  loss  (  — ). 


$0. 57 
14.56 
.53 
16.  76 
2.50 
14.  35 
19.98 
20.33 
17. 02 
10. 22 


-$11.43 

+  12.16 

-  5.97 
+  2.36 

-  16.00 
+  5.45 

-  .92 

-  6.57 
4-  2.72 
+  2.52 


It  will  be  observed  that  on  these  Ohio  soils  commercial  nitrogen  used  alone,  or 
writh  potassium  only,  has  produced  an  increased  yield  sufficient  to  pay  less  than  50 
per  cent  of  the  cost  of  the  nitrogen  used.  When  used  in  connection  with  phosphorus, 
or  with  both  phosphorus  and  potassium,  it  has  not  increased  the  yield  above  that 
produced  by  the  phosphorus  alone,  or  by  the  phosphorus  and  potassium  together, 
sufficient  to  pay  for  the  cost  of  the  nitrogen  used.  As  a  matter  of  fact  no  other  treat- 
ment has  produced  a  net  profit  equal  to  that  resulting  from  the  use  of  phosphorus 
alone.  To  be  sure  we  have  larger  yields  from  other  applications,  but  Ave  must  bear 
in  mind  that  it  is  not  large  yields  that  we  desire,  but  large  profits.  (Large  yields 
remove  large  quantities  of  plant  food  from  the  soil. ) 

What  shall  we  say  then?  Shall  we  advise  farmers  to  buy  commercial  nitrogen  for 
use  in  this  rotation?  Or  shall  we  rather  advise  them  to  grow  a  catch  crop  of  stock 
peas  or  soy  beans  with  the  corn  or  a  crop  of  clover  with  the  oats,  or,  if  necessary,  to 
add  another  full  leguminous  crop  to  their  rotation? 

A  recent  contribution  «  from  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Chem- 
istry, suggests  and  offers  some  experimental  data  in  support  of  the  suggestion  that 
a  chemical  analysis  of  the  soil  might  be  made  each  year  in  order  to  ascertain  the 
amount  of  available  plant  food  contained  in  the  soil  and  the  consequent  kinds  and 
quantities  of  fertilizers  to  be  added  for  the  more  certain  production  of  the  crop 
desired. 

The  opinion  is  advanced  *>  ' '  that  the  mineral  plant  food  which  a  plant  does  take 
up  is  that  which  existed  in  the  soil  in  an  assimilable  form  at  the  time  of  planting." 
The  cost  of  determining  the  assimilable,  or  available,  plant  food  and  the  necessary 
laboratory  equipment  is  described,  and  the  statement (' is  made  "that  samples  (of 
soil)  could  be  brought  to  such  a  laboratory  and  four  days  later  the  results  could  be 


« Jour.  Amer.  Chem.  Soc,  24  (1902),  p.  79. 
21736— No.  142—04 7 


&Ibid.,  p.  106.        t'lbid.,  p.  98. 


98 

received  as  to  the  immediately  available  phosphate  and  potash."  It  is  even  asserted  « 
that  "  on  lines  similar  to  those  followed  in  this  paper  (from  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry) 
it  would  be  possible  to  establish  solvent  conditions  as  representing  the  feeding  ability 
of  any  plant,  whereupon  the  desired  crop  would  be  specified  when  the  soil  sample 
is  forwarded  for  analysis." 

Following  this  contribution,  and  in  almost  absolute  disagreement  with  it,  has 
appeared  Bureau  of  Soils  Bulletin  No.  22,  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 
on  "The  Chemistry  of  the  Soil  as  Related  to  Crop  production,"  in  which  it  is 
asserted  &  with  confidence  "that  practically  all  soils  contain  sufficient  plant  food 
for  good  crop  yields,  that  this  supply  will  be  indefinitely  maintained,  and  that  the 
actual  yield  of  plants  adapted  to  the  soil  depends  mainly,  under  favorable  climatic 
conditions,  upon  the  cultural  methods  and  suitable  crop  rotation." 

It  is  further  asserted  ^  that  this  is  "  a  conclusion  strictly  in  accord  with  the  expe- 
rience of  good  farm  practice  in  all  countries,  and  that  a  chemical  analysis  of  a  soil, 
even  by  these  extremely  delicate  and  sensitive  methods,  will  in  itself  give  no  indica- 
tion of  the  fertility  of  this  soil  or  of  the  probable  yield  of  a  crop,  and  it  seems  prob- 
able that  this  can  only  be  determined,  if  at  all,  by  physical  methods,  as  it  lies  in  the 
domain  of  soil  physics." 

Again  I  feel  compelled  to  ask,  "Where  are  we?"  Shall  we  analyze  our  soils 
chemically  every  spring  before  seeding  time?  Or  shall  we  analyze  them  not  at  all? 
Shall  we  continue  to  use  commercial  fertilizers  and  farm  manure  for  any  other  pur- 
pose than  physical  effect?  Shall  we  continue  our  efforts  to  encourage  the  nitrogen- 
gathering  bacteria  to  gather  nitrogen?     Or  shall  we  simply  rotate  and  cultivate? 

It  may  assist  us  in  solving  some  of  these  soil  problems  if  we  keep  in  mind  the 
fact  that  the  soil  serves  the  plant  in  two  different  ways,  or,  we  may  say,  the  soil  has 
two  distinct  offices,  or  functions,  in  connection  with  crop  production:  First,  the  soil 
furnishes  a  home  for  the  plant,  a  mere  lodging  place,  in  which  the  seed  germinates 
and  the  plant  "lives  and  has  its  being; "  second,  the  soil  furnishes  food,  or  nourish- 
ment, for  the  growth,  development,  and  maturing  of  the  plant. 

Is  the  soil  hard  and  compact  and  almost  impenetrable  to  plant  roots,  or  is  it  loose 
and  porous?  Is  its  texture  fine  and  plastic,  medium  and  friable,  or  coarse  and  granu- 
lar? Does  it  readily  absorb  and  retain  moisture,  resist  drought,  and  permit  the  free 
movement  of  water  through  it  and  thus  facilitate  drainage?  Or  is  it  almost  impervi- 
ous to  water,  nonabsorbent,  and  nonretentive  of  moisture?  These  questions  deal  with 
the  first  function  of  the  soil — that  is,  with  its  physical  properties,  which  determine 
whether  the  soil  is  a  suitable  home  for  the  plant. 

The  second  function  of  the  soil  is  to  feed  the  plant,  to  supply  nourishment  absolutely 
required  for  the  growth  and  maturity  of  the  crop.  Does  the  soil  contain  a  sufficient 
store  of  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  potassium,  and  other  required  elements  of  plant  food, 
and  will  a  sufficient  quantity  of  these  be  made  available  during  the  progress  of  the 
season  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  growing  crop?  Can  we  add  to  the  store  of  nitrogen 
in  the  soil,  or  furnish  it  direct  to  the  growing  plant,  from  the  uncombined  nitrogen 
contained  in  the  air  by  bio-chemical  means?  Can  we  supply  or  supplement  the  soil's 
supply  of  plant  food  by  applications  of  farm  manure  or  other  fertilizers?  Can  we 
hasten  the  disintegration  of  soil  particles  and  the  consequent  liberation  of  plant  food 
from  the  soil  by  increasing  the  amount  of  decaying  organic  matter  in  the  soil  or  by 
applications  of  lime  or  other  materials?  These  questions  deal  with  the  feeding  or 
nourishing  of  plants.  This  is  soil  chemistry,  the  other  is  soil  physics,  and  neither 
can  truthfully  say  to  the  other,  "I  have  no  need  of  thee." 

We  have  in  Illinois  an  area  of  land  whose  principal  type  of  soil  contains  only  600 
pounds  of  phosphorus  per  acre  in  the  plowed  soil  to  a  depth  of  7  inches.  A  good 
crop  of  corn,  such  as  we  commonly  produce  on  the  best  soils  in  the  State,  removes 
from  the  soil  23  pounds  of  phosphorus  per  acre.  Twenty-five  or  thirty  good  crops 
would  actually  remove  from  the  soil  as  much  phosphorus  as  is  contained  in  this 
plowed  soil,  and  the  plowed  soil  is  considerably  richer  in  phosphorus  than  the  soil 
below  it. 

It  is  mathematically  impossible  that  the  "supply  will  be  indefinitely  maintained," 
if  good  crops  should  be  removed  from  this  land  for  any  considerable  number  of  years. 
The  question  is  asked,  if  this  is  not  a  very  small  area  of  abnormal  soil.  It  is  true  that 
this  area  is  a  fraction  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  but,  nevertheless,  it  is  large  enough  to 
make  eleven  States  the  size  of  Rhode  Island.  In  former  years  this  part  of  Illinois 
supplied  sufficient  com  to  the  rest  of  the  State  so  that  it  was  nicknamed  "  Egypt," 
and  it  is  still  popularly  known  by  that  name. 

We  have  another  area  comprising  seven  counties  whose  principal  type  of  soil,  after 

«  Jour.  Amer.  Chem.  Soc,  24  (1902),  p.  113. 

6  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bureau  of  Soils  Bui.  22,  p.  64. 


99 


eighty  years  of  cultivation,  does  not  contain  aa  much  nitrogen  to  ;i  depth  of  3  feel  as 

would  be  contained  in  twenty  good  crops  of  corn. 

Another  large  area,  evidently  comprising  several  hundred  thousand  acres,  does 
not  contain  sufficient  potassium  in  the  plowed  soil  to  make  twenty  good  crops  of 

corn,  and  the  subsoil  is  still  more  deficient  in  potassium  than  the  top  soil. 

By  chemical  analyses  we  have  found  that  one  of  these  extensive  soil  types  con- 
tains more  than  six  times  as  much  phosphorus  as  another;  one  contains  five  times  as 
much  potassium  in  the  top  soil  as  another,  with  a  still  greater  difference  in  the  sub- 
soils; one  type  contains  from  ten  to  sixty  times  as  much  nitrogen  as  another.  The 
principal  typesof  soil  in  central  and  northern  Illinois  contain  from  two  to  three 
times  as  much  plant  food  and  produce  two  to  three  times  as  much  corn  as  the  prin- 
cipal types  in  southern  Illinois.  These  are  not  mere  theories;  they  are  absolute 
facts.  Itased  upon  chemical  analysis  of  the  soil,  upon  pot  cultures  carried  on  under 
controlled  conditions,  upon  actual  field  experiments,  and  upon  regular  crop  yields  in 
ordinary  farm  practice. 

Plant  food  in  same  Illinois  surface  soils  [pounds per  acre). 


Elements  of  plant  food. 


Black  prai- 
l   rie  (Wis- 
coEMEJa  gia- 

eiation). 


Red  clay 
hills  (uri- 
glaciated ). 


Gray  prai- 
rie |  lower 
Illinoisan 
glacia- 

tiou). 


Peaty  swamps  i  re- 
een'tly  drained). 


Nitrogen 6.200  !  1.000  -   - 

Phosphorus 1,600  1.000  600 

Potassium 8, 800  ,  5. 600  4, 200 


67,000 
2.000 
1,200 


Crop  yields  in  soil  experiments. 


Plant  food  applied. 


Corn. 


Wheat. 


Wheat.  Corn. 


Corn 
fodder. 


Bushels 

None « ' 

Nitrogen 

Phosphorus 

1  \  itassium 

Nitrogen,  phosphorus 

Nitrogen,  potassium 

Phosphorus,  potassium 

Nitrogen,  phosphorus,  potassium 


Grams.        Bushels.     Pounds. 


o 

1.000 

0 

1,200 

o  1 

2,000 

36 

3,600 

0 

1.400 

40 

3,500 

38 

3,100 

60 

4,400 

a  A  very  common  yield.     No  experiment,  on  this  type. 

To  the  old,  worn,  nnglaciated  hill  soil  of  southern  Illinois,  whose  chemical  compo- 
sition shows  it  to  be  markedly  deficient  in  nitrogen,  we  added  both  phosphorus  and 
potassium  and  obtained  practically  the  same  yield  as  where  no  plant  food  was  applied, 
but  when  nitrogen  was  added  the  yield  of  wheat  was  increased  from  only  3  grams  to 
from  26  to  34  grams  per  pot 

To  the  principal  type  of  soil  in  the  lower  Illinoisan  glaciation,  whose  analysis  shows 
that  its  phosphorus  content  is  only  one-third  of  a  normal  fertile  soil,  we  added  both 
nitrogen  and  potassium  and  produced  no  increase  whatever,  but  when  phosphorus 
was  added  the  yield  of  wheat  was  increased  from  10  grams  to  from  14  to  27  grams 
per  pot. 

To  the  peaty  swamp  soils  representing  some  hundred  thousand  acres  in  north- 
central  Illinois  whose  composition  shows  that  it  contains  less  than  one-fifth  as  much 
potassium  as  the  best  soils  in  the  corn  belt,  we  added  both  nitrogen  and  phosphorus 
and  obtained  practically  the  same  yield  of  corn  as  where  no  plant  food  was  added, 
the  total  yield  per  acre  amounting  to  only  a  'ton  or  less  of  corn  fodder  with  practically 
no  ear  corn,  and  yet  where  we  applied  potassium  to  that  soil  we  obtained  about  two 
tons  of  corn  stover  and  from  36  to  60  bushels  per  acre  of  good  corn,  and  following 
up  these  results,  the  farmers  who  own  and  manage  those  lands  are  already  profitably 
using  carloads  of  potassium  salts  upon  those  soils,  not  highly  manufactured  so-called 
complete  commercial  fertilizers,  but  crude  potassium  salts  direct  from  the  German 
mines  and  in  quantities  sufficient  for  a  good  crop  of  corn.  It  will  be  observed  that 
after  the  most  needed  element  has  been  applied  the  other  elements  added  may  pro- 
duce more  or  less  increase  in  the  crop. 

Are  all  these  results  produced  by  the  physical  effect  of  these  materials?  Does 
nitrogenous  material  produce  this  physical  effect  in  one  soil,  phosphatic  in  another, 


100 


and  potassic  in  a  third?  "We  have  tried  potassium  chlorid  and  sodium  chlorid  side 
by  side.  Potassium  increases  the  yield  threefold  and  sodium  not  at  all.  To  be  sure 
we  have  been  studying  Illinois  soils  for  only  two  years,  and  we  have  made  only  a 
mere  beginning  in  that  great  State,  but  we  are  making  use  of  soil  chemistry,  soil 
physics,  soil  bacteriology,  pot  cultures,  field  experiments,  and  in  fact  every  method 
or  agency  which  promises  to  aid  us,  and  we  hope  to  rapidly  obtain  much  more  com- 
plete knowledge  of  Illinois  soils  than  we  now  have. 

Bulletin  No.  68,  just  received  from  the  Florida  Experiment  Station,  contains  forty 
chemical  analyses  of  the  ordinary  very  sandy  loams  upon  which  nearly  all  of  the 
pineapples  produced  in  that  State  are  grown.  In  commenting  upon  these  soils,  the 
authors  say:"  "Few  of  the  soils  would  be  able  to  produce  more  than  two  or  three 
crops  of  pineapples,  if  all  the  plant  food  present  were  available."  Probably  these 
sandy  loams  should  be  considered  as  abnormal  soils,  but  there  are  actually  all  grada- 
tions between  these  sandy  soils  and  the  heaviest  clays  or  the  most  peaty  swamps. 
Where  shall  we  draw  the  line  between  the  soil  whose  fertility  can  be  reduced  so  as 
to  affect  the  crop  yield  and  the  soil  whose  supply  of  fertility  "will  be  indefinitely 
maintained." 

The  conclusions  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils  reported  in  Bulletin  No.  22  were  based  in 
part  upon  the  fact  that  no  special  correlation  was  found  between  ordinary  orop 
yields  and  the  chemical  composition  of  an  aqueous  extract  of  the  soil  and  in  part 
upon  a  cursory  examination  of  the  literature  bearing  upon  the  subject.  I  say  a  cursory 
examination  because  of  the  large  amount  of  existing  data  which  appear  to  have  been 
overlooked. 

For  example,  in  the  bulletin  from  the  Bureau  of  Soils  it  is  suggested  that  the  appli- 
cation of  plant  food  is  usually  of  little  or  no  value,  provided  a  proper  rotation  is 
practiced,  and  the  results  obtained  from  wheat  grown  continuously  and  from  the 
four-year  rotations  of  wheat,  roots,  barley,  and  fallow,  which  have  been  carried  on 
at  Rothamsted  during  fifty  years  are  cited  as  proof.  The  statement  l>  is  made  that 
"the  yield  of  wheat  grown  continuously  without  manure  for  fifty  years  has  been 
reduced  from  33J  bushels,  the  average  maintained  on  the  best  fertilized  plat,  to  15 
bushels." 

One  would  at  first  suppose  this  statement  were  a  misprint,  We  might  almost  in 
truth  make  the  opposite  statement,  namely,  that  by  the  use  of  farm  manure  the  yield 
of  wheat  grown  continuously  has  been  increased  from  13£  bushels,  the  average  main- 
tained on  the  unfertilized  plat,  to  33^  bushels.  It  is  not  the  reduced  yield  from  crop- 
ping without  manuring  that  is  noteworthy,  but  it  is  increased  yield  due  to  the  appli- 
cation of  plant  food.     The  unmanured  plat  never  produced  33^  bushels. 

Wheatgrown  continuously  at  Rothamsted  c  {bushels  per  acre) . 


Harvest  year. 

Without 
manure. 

With  farm 
manure. 

Differ- 
ence. 

1843 

dl8 

H18 

0 

1844 

15 
23 
18 
17 
15 
19 
16 
16 

21 

32 
27 
30 
26 
31 
28 
30 

6 

1845 

9 

1846 . . .                

9 

1847 

13 

1848                                        

11 

1849 

12 

1850 

12 

1851. . . 

14 

17 

28 

11 

1884         

13 
15 
9 
15 
10 
12 
14 
14 

32 
40 
36 
36 
38 
10 
13 
48 

19 

L885 

25 

1886 

27 

1887 

20 

1888                 

28 

1889     .                    

28 

L890     .                                

29 

1891  . .                                                                 

34 

13 

39 

26 

13| 

33* 

20 

a  Florida  Station  Bui.  68,  p.  691. 

i>v.  s.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bureau  of  Soils  Bui.  22,  p.  65. 

<■  Agricultural  investigations  at  Rothamsted,  V .  8.  Dept  Agr.,  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  Bui.  22, 

PI.  I,  between  pp.  1  16  and  117. 
''Supposed  yields  for  1843. 


101 


The  first  recorded  yield  from  the  unmanured  plat,  in  1844,  was  only  15  bushels, 
and  the  average  of  the  first  eight  years  (1844  to  1851  )  was  only  L71  bushels. 

It  is  also  stated  by  the  Bureau  of  Soils"  that  "by  a  simple  rotation  and  change  of 
cultural  methods  from  year  to  year,  with  the  change  of  the  crop,  the  yield  of  wheat 
has  been  maintained  practically  constant  for  forty-Tour  years,"  and  the  yields  from 
a  few  selected  years  are  cited  as  proof.  The  statement''  is  made,  for  example,  that 
"the  yield  of  wheat  has  not  been  sensibly  reduced,  the  yield,  even  when  the  roots 
were  carted  off  and  the  land  left  in  fallow,  being  33j  bushels  in  L883,  as  against  30£ 
bushels  in  1851,  37|  bushels  in  1855,  and  35  bushels  in  1859." 

While  it  is  true  that. Sol  bushels  was  the  yield  in  1883,  and  that  some  other  very  satis- 
factory yields  have  since  been  obtained,  nevertheless,  theoriginal  data  show  that  dur- 
ing the  four  courses,  covering  sixteen  years  (1S5:>  to  L867)  the  average  yield  of  wheat 
was  30  bushels  per  acre,  while  duringthe  next  four  courses,  covering  a  second  period 
of  sixteen  years  (1868  to  1883)  the  average  yield  was  20  bushels,  although  in  1883  the 
yield  was  33£  bushels,  and  during  the  sixteen-year  period  (1884  to  1899),  the  average 
yield  has  been  29  bushels. 

It  is  true  that  when  not  manured  the  average  crop  of  wheat  in  the  four-year  rota- 
tion has  been  larger  than  where  wheat  was  grown  continuously,  hut  is  the  difference 
due  primarily  to  physical  conditions  of  the  soil?  All  students  of  agriculture,  practi- 
cal and  scientific,  not  only  admit,  but  have  always  advocated,  that  the  physical  con- 
dition of  the  soil  is  a  highly  important  factor,  and  in  my  judgment  the  statement^ 
by  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  "that  fertilizers  rarely  take  the  place  of  efficient  methods  of 
cultivation  and  of  cropping  in  increasing  or  maintaining  crop  yields,"  is  at  fault,  in 
so  far  as  it  intimates  that  fertilizers  may  sometimes  be  substituted  for  good  farming. 
Applications  of  plant  food  are  not  expected  to  retard,  but  to  encourage,  the  growth 
of  weeds.  Fertilizers  do  not  take  the  place  of  cultivation;  their  value  is  usually 
enhanced  by  cultivation,  by  means  of  which  they  are  more  thoroughly  distributed 
and  incorporated  with  the  soil. 

The  fact  is  that  in  this  four-year  rotation  the  wheat  crop  followed  a  year  of  fallow 
cultivation,  and  we  might  expect  the  one  crop  to  utilize  the  total  amount  of  plant 
food  made  available  during  the  two  years'  time.  That  this  is  probably  true  is  indi- 
cated by  a  further  study  of  this  rotation. 

Yield  of  crops  grown  in  four-year  rotation  at  Rothamsted  <!   (roots,  hurley,  fallow,  and 
wheat)  root  crop  removed  from  land. 


Roots 

tons. 

Barley,  bushels. 

Wheat,  bushels. 

Applied — 

Applied — 

Applied — 

Number  of  course. 

No  plant 

food. 

Nitrogen, 

phos- 
phorus, 
potas- 
sium. 

No  plant 
food. 

Nitrogen, 

phos- 
phorus, 
potas- 
sium. 

No  plant 
food. 

Nitrogen, 

phos- 
phorus, 

potas- 
sium. 

First  e 

8.8 

19.7 

34 

37 

30 

30 

Second 

1.9 

2.3 

.1 

.4 

20.  1 
10.4 
4.4 
9.1 

32 
44 
35 
34 

38 
48 
6J 
45 

37 
36 
46 

38 

Third 

42 

Fourth 

53 

Fifth 

22 

1.2 

12.6 

36 

48 

36 

39 

Sixth 

.0 
2.6 
l.G 
1.6 

.0 
16. 6 
15.5 
22.5 

21 
21 
23 
29 

40 
32 
31 
34 

11 

21 
10 
34 

17 

Seventh 

29 

Eighth 

12 

Ninth  

37 

Average  6  to  9 

1.5 

13.7 

24 

34 

20 

24 

Tenth 

.9 
.8 

.5 

.8 

14.9 
21.6 
26.2 
17.3 

16 

16 
20 

11 

19 
20 
19 
21 

35 
32 
22 
27 

39 

Eleventh  

41 

Twelfth 

33 

Thirteen  t  h 

33 

Average  10  to  13 

.8 

20.0 

16 

20 

29 

37 

1.2 

15.4 

25 

34 

28 

33 

aU.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bureau  of  Soils  Bui.  22,  p.  56. 
&Ibid,  p.  55. 
dbid,  p.  60. 

d  Memoranda  of  the  origin,  plan,  and  results  of  the  field  and  other  experiments  at  Rothamsted  (1900) 
pp.  110,  111. 
e  Clover  instead  of  fallow  in  first  rotation. 


102 

It  is  approximately  correct,  as  stated  by  the  Bureau  of  Soils, a  that  "the  yield  of 
wheal  in  this  same  experiment,  where  mixed  mineral  and  nitrogenous  manures  had 

been  used  in  some  part  of  the  rotation,  had  not  been  sensibly  larger  [than  where  no 
manure  was  used],"  but  the  fact  appears  to  have  been  overlooked  that  the  root  crop 
immediately  following  wheat  has  produced,  during  the  forty-eight  years,  an  average 
annual  yield  of  1.2  tons  without  fertilizing,  and  an  average  yield  of  15.4  tons  where 
mixed  mineral  and  nitrogenous  manures  were  used.  If  it  were  the  physical  condi- 
tion which  so  markedly  affected  the  yield  of  wheat,  it  certainly  failed  utterly  in' 
benefiting  the  root  crop. 

In  addition  to  this  we  have  the  simple  fact  reported  by  Lawes  and  Gilbert  h  that 
during  the  forty  years,  from  1852  to  1891,  where  mixed  mineral  and  nitrogenous  fer- 
tilizers were  used  the  yield  of  wheat  averaged  884  bushels  when  grown  in  this  rota- 
tion, and  36J  bushels  when  grown  continuously.  We  might  presume  from  these 
data  that  the  higher  yield  produced  where  wheat  was  grown  continuously  is  due  to 
the  improved  physical  condition  of  the  soil,  but  more  probably  it  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  crops  grown  continuously  received  somewhat  heavier  applications  of  plant 
food  than  the  rotation  crops.  This  shows,  for  comparison,  the  results  obtained  in  the 
four-year  rotation  at  Rothamsted  when  the  roots  were  either  fed  off  by  sheep  or  cut 
and  spread  on  the  land.  In  this  case  only  two  crops  were  removed  in  four  years, 
and  yet  the  average  yield  of  wheat  was  sensibly  higher,  and  the  yield  of  barley 
markedly  higher,  where  mixed  mineral  and  nitrogenous  manures  were  used  than 
where  no  plant  food  was  applied. 

Yield  of  crops  grown  in  four-year  rotation  at  Rothamsted a  (roots,  barley,  fallow,  and 
wheat).     Roots  not  removed  (fed  or  spread  on  land). 


Number  of  course. 


First  6 

Second 

Third 

Fourth 

Fifth 

Average  2  to  5.. 

Sixth 

Seventh 

Eighth 

Ninth 

Average  G  to  9.. 

Tenth 

Eleventh  

Twelfth 

Thirteenth 

Average  10  to  13 

Average  2  to  13. 


Roots 

tons. 

Barley, 

bushels. 

Wheat, 

mshels. 

Applied — 

Applied- 

Applied- 

Nitrogen, 

Nitrogen, 

Nitrogen, 

No  plant 

phos- 
phorus, 

No  plant 

phos- 
phorus, 

No  plant 

phos- 
ph<  rus, 

potas- 

potas- 

potas- 

sium. 

sium. 

sium-. 

8.9 

21.4 

45 

44 

31 

27 

1.4 

19.5 

33 

37 

37 

37 

1.7 

17.0 

44 

67 

35 

40 

.1 

4.4 

33 

58 

42 

49 

.4 

9.3 

35 

47 

23 

20 

1.0 

12.6 

36 

52 

34 

37 

.0 

.0 

21 

38 

14 

17 

2.5 

16.  G 

21 

47 

24 

30 

1.6 

18.9 

22 

45 

12 

10 

1.9 

22.  8 

31 

48 

34                   39 

1.5 

14.6 

24 

45 

•21                    24 

1.0 

14.8 

23 

32 

33 

41 

1.2 

21.2 

17 

23 

31 

45 

.6 

25.0 

19 

2G 

2H 

32 

1.2 

16. 6 

13 

35 

27 

39 

1.0 

19.4 

18 

29 

29 

39 

,2 

15.5 

26 

42 

28 

33 

a  Memoranda  of  the  origin,  plan,  and  results  of  the  field  and  other  experiments  at  Rothamsted  (1900), 
pp.  114,  115. 
''Clover  instead  of  fallow  in  first  course. 

In  connection  with  the  very  extensive  and  truly  valuable  data  furnished  by  the 
Bureau  of  Soils  in  this  bulletin  and  the  conclusion  '  drawn,  that  "all  types  of  soil 
furnish  about  the  same  amount  of  plant  food  when  treated  with  the  same  propor- 
tion of  water,  other  conditions  as  time,  temperature,  etc.,  being  also  the  same,"  it 


«U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bureau  of  Soils  Bui.  22,  p.  56. 

''Agricultural  Investigations  at  Rothamsted,  V.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Office  of   Experi- 
ment Stations  Bui.  22,  pp.  151  and  L89. 

^U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bureau  of  Soils  Bui.  22,  p.  46. 


103 

may  be  remembered  that  Lawea  and  Gilbert, a  by  a  very  careful  examination  of  soils 
to  considerable  depths,  by  methods  which  were  also  exceedingly  sensitive  and  accu- 
rate, found  17  pounds  per  acre  of  soluble  nitrogen  in  soil  supporting  a  crop  of  alfalfa, 
and  103  pounds,  or  more  than  six  times  as  much,  in  soil  where  while  clover  was 
growing.  To  explain  such  discrepancies  will  require  further  and  more  comprehen- 
sive investigations. 

Agriculture  demands  and  deserves  all  the  investigation  which  is  being  given  to  it; 
it  is  in  need  of,  and  is  worthy  of,  all  the  investigators  whose  services  are  being 
devoted  to  this  greatest  of  all  our  industries;  but  let  us  remember  that  it  is  only  a 
genius  who  can  draw  correct  conclusions  from  incomplete  data  or  insufficient  prem- 
ises, that  we  are  to  use  all  obtainable  information  to  guide  us,  and  that  we  are  to 
work  together  as  a  unit  for  the  betterment  of  American  agriculture.  The  work  is 
greater  than  any  man  or  any  office.  Let  every  man  develop  and  magnify  the  line 
of  work  which  he  is  called  upon  to  perform,  but  let  us  neither  decry  nor  ignore  nor 
underestimate  the  value  of  any  other  good  work. 

And  God  speed  the  time  when  we  shall  agree  on  some  fundamental  principles,  and 
when  \ve  shall  discover  and  demonstrate  the  best  and  most  economic  methods  for 
the  permanent  maintenance  or  increase  of  the  productive  capacity  of  our  soils,  not 
only  by  maintaining  the  most  suitable  physical  conditions  of  the  soil  and  by  effecting 
the  utmost  possible  control  of  soil  water  and  by  the  most  economic  utilization  of  the 
virgin  fertility  already  stored  in  the  soil,  but  also,  wherever  necessary  and  profitable, 
by  liberal  additions  to  the  soil  of  valuable  plant  food;  not  by  the  purchase  and  use 
of  sodium  nitrate,  almost  certainly  not,  but  undoubtedly  by  the  assimilation  and 
utilization  of  unlimited  quantities  of  atmospheric  nitrogen;  probably  not  by  the  use 
of  acid  phosphates,  containing  6  per  cent  of  phosphorus  and  60  per  cent  of  manufac- 
tured land  plaster,  usually  supplying,  as  commonly  practiced,  less  than  one-half  of 
the  phosphorus  actually  removed  by  the  crops  and  stimulating  the  soil  to  give  up  a 
greater  quantity  of  the  stock  of  plant  food  it  contains,  thus  leaving  it  in  a  still  more 
impoverished  condition,  but  much  more  likely  by  returning  to  the  land  in  pure  form 
the  bone  meal  produced  on  the  farm  and  by  using,  together  with  farm  manures  and 
leguminous  green  fertilizers,  large  quantities  of  fine-ground  rock  phosphate  direct 
from  the  almost  inexhaustible  natural  phosphate  deposits  in  our  Southern  States,  as 
has  already  been  done  with  marked  profit,  and  greater  promise,  by  the  Ohio  b  and 
Maryland c  experiment  stations;  and  possibly  not  by  using  mixed  manufactured  fer- 
tilizers containing  from  2  to  4  per  cent  of  potassium,  but  by  making  the  most  complete 
use  of  the  comparatively  large  amounts  of  potassium  contained  in  the  straw  and 
stover  and  other  coarser  parts  of  our  farm  crops  and  in  farm  manures,  by  making 
much  greater  use  than  we  now  do  of  the  immense  store  of  potassium  contained  in 
our  heavy  clay  subsoils,  or,  if  necessary,  by  using  concentrated  potassium  salts  direct 
from  the  German  mines,  or  what  may  ultimately  prove  to  be  more  economical  and 
certainly  more  unlimited,  by  recovering  on  our  arid  coasts,  as  they  are  now  doing  in 
southern  France,  potassium  salts  from  the  inexhaustible  supply  of  the  sea. 

In  closing,  I  beg  to  assure  you  that  no  spirit  of  captious  criticism  has  prompted  the 
preparation  of  this  paper.  The  field  is  old,  but  the  work  is  new,  and  it  is  being 
prosecuted  by  many  widely  separated  and  almost  independent  investigators.  My 
one  purpose  iij  pointing  out  some  specific  differences  or  disagreements  is  to  bring 
about  a  more  perfect  harmony  among  us,  hoping  thus  that  we  may  avoid  the  criticism 
and  win  the  more  complete  confidence  of  that  rapidly  increasing  class  of  progressive, 
educated,  and  even  college-bred  American  farmers  who  are  not  only  watching  closely 
the  progress  of  our  work,  but  who  are  already  putting  our  teachings  to  the  practical 
test.  Not  infrequently  these  well-trained  and  well-educated  farmers  are  prepared  to 
repeat  our  tenth-acre  plat  experiments  upon  a  100-acre  field  and  with  a  consequent 
percentage  accuracy  which  may  even  exceed  our  own. 

To  more  fully  appreciate  the  tremendous  importance  of  this  work,  we  need  only  to 
bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  agriculture  is  no  longer  merely  a  means  of  obtaining  a  liv- 
ing, but  it  is  now  a  real  business  enterprise,  and  the  business  of  agriculture,  especially 
throughout  the  great  Central  West,  is  rapidly  taking  its  rightful  rank  as  an  industry 
which  may  be  managed  and  controlled  with  a  good  measure  of  scientific  accuracy. 
The  American  farmer  has  a  right  to  expect  that,  if  he  adopts  the  methods  which  we 
advocate,  the  fertility  of  his  soil  is  secure,  that  the  productive  capacity  of  his  land 
will  be  increased,  or,  at  the  very  least,  that  it  shall  be  permanently  maintained — not 

a Investigations  at  Rothamsted  Experimental  Station,  IT.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Office  of 
Experiment  Stations  Bui.  8,  p.  82;  also  Agricultural  Investigations  at  Rothamsted, 
U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  Bui.  22,  p.  115. 

6  Ohio  Sta.  Bui.  184,  pp.  94-98. 

«  Maryland  Sta.  Bui.  68,  pp.  18-24. 


104 

only  for  a  season,  not  only  for  a  score  of  years,  but  so  long  as  the  American  farmer 
shall  till  American  soil. 

F.  K.  Cameron,  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  IT.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  protested 
against  what  lie  understood  to  be  a  misapprehension  by  Mr.  Hopkins  of  Bulletin  No. 
22  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils.  He  explained  that  in  the  first  place  the  bulletin  was  not 
intended  to  be  a  discussion  of  the  fertility  of  soils;  and  in  the  second  place  the  Bureau 
of  Soils  recognizes  that  good  does  come  from  the  application  of  fertilizers.  The 
question  of  the  yield  of  the  crop  was  made  up  of  many  factors,  each  of  which  affected 
the  yield.  He  maintained  that,  if  any  progress  was  to  be  made  in  connection  with 
this  subject,  it  must  be  in  connection  with  the  study  of  the  soil  solution. 

As  to  the  question,  What  can  fertilizers  do,  the  Bureau  of  Soils  did  not  pretend  to 
have  fully  and  satisfactorily  settled  that  question,  but  they  know  more  about  it  than 
they  did  a  few  months  ago.  The  factors  involved  in  the  question  of  soil  fertility 
formed  a  subject  for  very  serious  study  and  were  receiving  very  careful  investiga- 
tion from  the  Bureau.  Upon  the  studies  thus  far  pursued,  the  Bureau  had  not  ven- 
tured to  make  any  premature  announcement  of  results,  although  it  was  perfectly 
well  satisfied  that  fertilizers  do  have  a  very  recognizable  effect,  He  regretted  if  any- 
thing reported  by  the  Bureau  had  been  misinterpreted.  The  Bureau  was  ready  with 
all  others  to  go  forward  in  the  investigation  of  the  soil  and  to  do  whatever  it  could  to 
obtain  trustworthy  results.     . 

F.  H.  King,  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  read  the  fol- 
lowing paper: 

Differences  Between  Four  Southern  and  Four  Northern  Soils,  and  Improve- 
ments in  Soil  Management  which  these  Differences  Suggest. 

The  soils  of  the  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coastal  plains  east  of  the  Mississippi  are 
generally  recognized  as  being  strongly  contrasted  with  the  soils  of  the  North  and 
Middle  West  in  their  general  present  productive  capacities. 

The  Division  of  Soil  Management  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture  has  been  making  a  comparative  study  in  these  contrasted  regions,  working 
this  year  with  eight  soil  types,  two  each  in  North  Carolina  and  Maryland  and  two 
each  in  Pennsylvania  and  Wisconsin,  with  a  view  to  ascertaining  if  recognizable  funda- 
mental differences  could  be  found  which  would  suggest  improvements  in  the  methods 
of  managing  these  soils  to  increase  their  productive  capacities.  Two  suitable  2-acre 
areas,  about  200  by  440  feet,  on  two  soil  types  in  each  locality  having  recognized 
different  productive  capacities,  were  selected  for  these  comparative  studies,  and  on 
these  areas,  treated  in  every  respect  alike,  corn  and  potatoes  were  grown,  using  the 
same  seed  for  all  and  planting  on  the  same  date. 

To  produce  differences  in  yield  on  the  same  soil  type  for  each  locality,  the  440-foot 
strips  of  land  were  divided  crosswise  into  20  subplats,  which  were  treated  in  groups 
of  5,  to  one  of  which  in  each  group  nothing  was  added;  to  a  second,  5  tons  of  stable 
manure;  to  a  third,  10  tons;  to  a  fourth,  15  tons;  and  to  a  fifth,  300  pounds  of  Acme 
guano.  Each  fertilization  was  thus  repeated  four  times  across  the  respective  areas. 
The  manure  used  was  first  brought  together  in  a  common  pile,  well  mixed,  and  from 
there  hauled  to  the  two  soil  types,  distributing  it  in  such  a  way  that  each  load  was 
subdivided  so  that  a  proportionate  part  fell  upon  all  subplats  of  a  given  soil  type. 
The  guano  was  bought  in  one  lot  and  subdivided  for  the  eight  soil  types.  This  was 
also  true  for  the  seed  planted,  "Iowa  Gold  Mine"  being  used  for  corn  and  "Rural 
New  Yorkers"  for  potatoes.  Corn  occupied  one-third  of  every  subplat,  potatoes  one- 
third,  and  the  middle  one-third  between  the  corn  and  potatoes  was  kept  fallow  and 
cultivated  free  from  weeds  with  the  areas  under  crop. 

Comparative  physical  and  chemical  as  well  as  crop  studies  have  been  made  on  all 
of  the  different  conditions  of  treatment  of  the  eight  soil  types,  and  it  is  some  of  the 
results  of  these  studies  which  we  wish  to  bring  to  your  attention,  with  the  lessons 
they  appear  to  teach  regarding  improvements  in  the  management  of  Southern  soils. 

Soil  samples  were  taken  from  every  subplat  under  the  three-crop  conditions  once 
every  week  during  the  growing  season  up  to  August  24  for  the  surface  foot;  for  the 
second  foot  samples  were  taken  once  in  every  two  weeks,  and  for  the  third  and 
fourth  feet  samples  were  taken  at  the  start,  in  the  middle  of  the  growing  season,  and 
near  the  close.  These  samples  of  soil  have  all  been  so  taken  as  to  permit  both  the 
percentage  and  the  absolute  amounts  of  soil  moisture  to  be  computed  under  all  of  the 


105 

conditions;  so  as  to  permit  the  absolute  volume  of  soil  air  per  cubic  foot  to  be  calcu- 
lated at  each  date  of  sampling;  so  as  to  give  the  total  pore  space,  the  absolute  water 
capacities,  and  the  weights  per  cubic  foot  of  water-free  dry  soil. 

The  soil  temperatures  have  been  determined  weekly  on  the  same  day  in  the  four 
localities  for  the  eight  types  of  soil  at  depths  of  6  inches,  12  inches,  24  inches,  and  :!(> 
inches,  the  records  extending  through  the  entire  season.  A  continuous  record  of  the 
soil  temperature  at  1  foot  below  the  surface  under  the  corn  on  the  eighl  types  of  soil 
has  also  been  obtained.  A  continuous  record  of  the  temperature  in  a  closed  shelter 
4  feet  above  the  ground  in  the  field  of  corn  growing  on  one  of  the  soil  types  in  each 
locality  has  also  been  obtained.  Likewise  a  continuous  record*  of  the  evaporation 
from  11  square  feet  of  soil  kept  continuously  saturated  by  capillarity  has  been  kept 
for  one  of  the  soil  types  at  each  of  the  four  stations.  So,  too,  has  the  total  evapora- 
tion from  ten  stalks  of  corn  growing  on  one  of  the  soil  types  at  each  station  been 
measured. 

The  amounts  of  readily  water-soluble  salts  which  could  be  recovered  by  a  three- 
minute  washing  in  distilled  water  have  been  determined  for  the  different  soil  types 
under  the  different  fertilizations  and  at  different  times  during  the  season  for  depths 
extending  to  4  feet  by  1-foot  sections.  Samples  of  the  corn  and  potatoes  growing 
upon  the  ground  were  collected  at  the  times  the  soil  samples  were  taken,  under  the 
different  fertilizations,  and  these  have  been  examined  for  the  kinds  and  amounts  of 
water-soluble  salts  they  contained,  so  as  to  be  able  to  compare  these  with  those  found 
in  the  soil  moisture  upon  which  the  crops  were  grown. 

The  fallow  area  was  maintained  between  each  crop  area  on  the  different  soil  types 
so  as  to  get  a  measure  of  the  amounts  of  water-soluble  salts  which  might  be  developed 
and  retained  by  the  different  soils  under  the  different  treatments  where  no  crop  was 
present  to  influence  in  any  manner  what  might  form  or  accumulate  through  a  capillary 
rise  of  moisture  from  below. 

Samples  of  soil  have  also  been  taken  directly  under  hills  of  corn  and  potatoes  and 
at  points  between  rows  farthest  removed  from  the  hills  so  as  to  be  able  to  compare 
the  differences  in  soil  moisture  and  in  water-soluble  salts  with  those  of  the  fallow 
ground  where  no  influence  of  crop  has  been  felt. 

The  relative  rates  of  nitrification  under  like  fertilizations  and  like  physical  rela- 
tions have  been  measured  for  the  different  soil  types.  A  study  has  also  been  made 
of  the  capillary  movement  of  water-soluble  salts  as  influenced  by  methods  of  tillage, 
in  order  to  ascertain  in  how  far  the  position  of  water-soluble  plant  food  may  be 
influenced  or  controlled  by  practical  methods. 

We  have  measured  the  relative  powers  of  the  different  soil  types  to  retain  water- 
soluble  salts  contained  in  a  solution  passing  over  or  through  them,  as  always  happens 
when  fertilizers  are  applied  to  fields  and  rains  follow  which  may  produce  percolation, 
and  which  takes  place  in  all  soils  during  periods  of  protracted  dry  weather  when 
large  amounts  of  water  are  evaporated  from  the  surface  and  the  supply  is  kept  up 
through  the  capillary  rise  from  below. 

In  another  series  of  studies,  instead  of  simply  washing  the  soil  sample  three 
minutes  in  distilled  water  a  single  time,  we  have  repeated  the  washing  of  the  same 
sample  eleven  consecutive  times  in  order  to  obtain  some  idea  of  the  amounts  of  water- 
soluble  salts  which  are  recoverable  by  the  use  of  distilled  water  only. 

We  have  studied  the  textural  differences  of  the  soil  types,  measuring  the  relative 
permeability  of  the  different  types  to  air,  the  effective  size  of  the  soil  granules,  and 
their  comparative  resistance  to  tendencies  to  break  them  down  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  result  in  imperfect  soil  ventilation. 

Permit  me  to  present  as  concisely  and  briefly  as  I  may  some  of  the  results  secured 
by  these  studies,  and  to  point  out  their  practical  bearings. 

Beginning  with  the  results  which  have  come  from  the  physical  investigations,  we 
have  found  that,  generally,  the  Southern  soils  are  much  more  compact,  especially  at 
the  surface,  having  a  much  higher  dry  weight  per  cubic  foot,  and  much  smaller  pore 
space  and  absolute  water  capacity.  To  illustrate:  The  two  Janesville  soils  and  the 
two  Lancaster  soils  had  a  combined  mean  dry  weight  in  the  spring  of  60  pounds  per 
cubic  foot,  while  the  two  Maryland  and  Goldsboro  soils  had  a  mean  weight  of  78 
pounds,  or  16  pounds  more  per  cubic  foot.  At  the  end  of  August  the  northern  and 
middle-west  soils  weighed  74  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  while  the  coastal-plain  soils 
had  an  average  mean  weight  of  84  pounds,  being  10  pounds  higher.  The  pore  space 
of  the  northern  soils  is  thus  much  larger  than  that  of  the  southern  soil,  the  amounts 
being  64  per  cent  for  the  former  and  54  per  cent  for  the  latter.  This  difference  in 
the  pore  space  has  a  very  important  influence  onthese  soils,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
that  it  is  a  very  important  indirect  factor  in  determining  the  relative  agricultural 
values  of  the  soils  in  the  two  regions. 

In  the  second  place  it  has  been  shown  that  the  northern  and  middle-west  soils  are 
not  only  better  granulated,  but  the  tenacity  of  granulation  is  appreciably  stronger, 


106 

and  these  differences  again  are  important  indirect  factors  in  determining  their  rela- 
tive agricultural  values.  The  larger  pore  space  and  coarser  granulation  provides 
gi eater  capacity  and  better  facility  for  the  storing  of  the  rain  as  rapidly  as  it  falls, 
and  as  a  consequence  of  this  difference  there  is  much  less  surface  drainage,  less  sur- 
face washing  of  iields,  and  less  loss  of  water-soluble  salts  in  proportion  to  the  rainfall 
from  the  northern  and  middle-west  soils.  The  smaller  pore  space,  the  closer  texture, 
and  the  feebler  granulation,  combined  with  the  heavier  rainfall  of  the  South,  all  con- 
spire to  produce  the  excessive  surface  washing  of  the  fields  so  generally  destructive 
in  the  South.  Whenever  a  heavy  rain  falls  there  the  close  texture  and  feeble  granu- 
lation of  the  soils  result  in  the  surface  pores  of  the  field  becoming  quickly  so  com- 
pletely closed  that  the  soil  air  finds  little  opportunity  for  escape,  and  as  a  result  of 
this  the  water  can  only  enter  by  the  slow  process  of  capillarity,  greatly  opposed  by 
the  trapped  air.  The  result  is  that  the  surface  soil,  after  having  lost  much  of  its 
coarser  granulation,  is  more  easily  taken  up  by  the  water  held  on  the  surface  during 
rains,  and  is  then  carried  with  the  water-soluble  salts,  which  have  accumulated  by 
capillarity  and  evaporation,  into  the  drainage  channels,  thus  giving  the  muddy  waters 
so  characteristic  of  southern  streams. 

What,  then,  shall  be  done  to  establish  and  maintain  a  deeper  openness  and  a 
coarser  and  stronger  granulation  in  the  soils  of  the  South,  that  less  of  the  most  valu- 
able surface  soil,  less  of  the  rainfall,  and  less  of  the  water-soluble  fertility  shall  be 
directly  and  immediately  borne  away  in  the  surface  drainage  with  every  heavy  rain? 

The  temperature  of  the  soil  at  Goldsboro  has  averaged  for  the  entire  growing  season 
79.4°  at  0  inches,  74.9°  at  12  inches,  73.4°  at  24  inches,  and  72.3°  Fat  36  inches  between 
1  and  3  o'clock  p.  m.  At  Upper  Marlboro  it  has  averaged  7.2°  colder  at  6  inches,  5.2° 
colder  at  12  inches,  5.5°  colder  at  24  inches,  and  6.6°  colder  at  36  inches.  At  Lancaster 
the  soil  temperature  has  been  11.6°  colder  than  at  Goldsboro  at  6  inches,  9.5°  colder 
at  12  inches,  9.6°  colder  at  24  inches,  and  10.5°  colder  at  36  inches.  At  Janesville 
the  mean  soil  temperature  has  been  15.3°  colder  than  at  Goldsboro  at  6  inches,  35.4° 
colder  at  12  inches,  13.4°  colder  at  24  inches,  and  14.8°  colder  at  36  inches. 

Differences  in  soil  temperature  such  as  these  are  enough  in  themselves  to  cause 
measurable  differences  in  rates  of  nitrification  in  the  different  soils.  They  would  be 
considered  important  differences  in  greenhouse  work  also,  but  just  how  far  these 
differences,  under  field  conditions,  may  have  affected  quantitively  the  yields  or  the 
quality  of  the  product  produced  we  can  not  at  present  say.  It  seems  at  least  probable 
that  the  differences  have  been  influential  in  determining  the  number  of  days  required 
for  maturing  the  crops. 

Vhen  the  two  soil  types  in  each  locality  are  compared  the  differences  in  tempera- 
ture at  Goldsboro  and  at  Upper  Marlboro  are  about  2°  F.  throughout  the  zone  of  3 
feet,  the  more  productive  soils  in  each  locality  being  the  colder.  In  the  case  of  the 
two  soil  types  at  Lancaster  and  the  two  at  Janesville  the  differences  in  temperature 
have  averaged  a  little  less  than  1°.  As  would  be  expected  in  all  four  regions  the  soils 
having  the  least  water  capacity,  or  those  which  are  most  sandy,  have  had  the  highest 
temperature. 

It  is  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  temperatures  above  ground  which  are  influential 
in  determining  plant  growth  are  those  of  the  interior  of  the  plant  itself  rather  than 
those  of  the  atmosphere  which  surrounds  the  plant,  and  as  these,  especially  during 
sunshine,  are  quite  different  the  temperature  of  the  air  at  the  place  can  not  be  taken  as 
indicating  the  temperature  of  the  growing  plant.  It  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  get  wTith 
accuracy  comparable  temperatures  from  the  plant  itself,  and  on  this  account  we  have 
set  up  in  each  of  the  four  regions  in  the  corn  on  one  of  the  soil  types  a  thermograph, 
inclosed  in  a  cylindrical  galvanized-iron  shelter  provided  with  a  conical  top,  the 
shelter  having  the  same  form  and  dimensions  at  the  four  stations  and  all  set  at  4  feet 
above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  so  as  to  record  the  temperature  in  the  cornfields  at 
about  the  mean  height  of  the  corn  plant. 

The  mean  temperatures  of  these  shelters  for  seventy  days,  beginning  June  15,  are: 
For  Goldsboro,  104.3°;  for  Upper  Marlboro,  96.5°;  for  Lancaster,  90.1°,  andfor  Janes- 
ville, 87.7°.  While  these  temperatures  are  not  to  be  supposed  to  be  the  temperatures 
of  the  corn  plants  in  the  four  regions,  they  do  probably  represent  their  comparative 
temperatures  and  are  probably  nearer  the  actual  temperatures  of  the  plant  than  that 
of  the  atmosphere  would  give,  the  figures,  however,  beingprobably  a  little  higher  on 
account  of  the  influence  of  evaporation  in  lowering  the  temperature  not  being  felt  in 
the  shelters  except  when  wet  from  rain  or  dew. 

The  Upper  Marlboro  record  shows  an  average  temperature  7.8°  below  that  at  Golds- 
boro; the  Lancaster  record  14.27°  lower,  and  the  Janesville  record  16.8°  lower  at  2 
o'clock  p.  m.  At  6  o'clock  a.  m.  the  mean  temperature  at  Goldsboro  for  the  same 
period  was  (59.7°;  at  Upper  Marlboro,  64°;  at  Lancaster,  64.6°,  and  at  Janesville, 
58.°,  making  the  mean  range  of  temperature  during  this  period  about  35°  at  Golds- 
boro, 33°  at  Upper  Marlboro,  26°  at  Lancaster,  and  30°  at  Janesville. 


107 

The  total  evaporation  from  a  continuously  capillarity  saturated  surface  of  the  soil 
evaporimeter  at  Goldsboro  was  23.92  inches  between  May  1 1  and  September  22,  or  at 
the  mean  rate  of  2. 12  inches,  or  11  pounds  per  square  foot  per  ten  days;  at  Upper 
Marlboro  the  rate  was  1.92  inches,  or  9.8  pounds  per  square  foot  per  ten  days;  at 
Lancaster  the  rate  was  1.53  inches,  or  7.96  pounds  per  square  loot  per  ton  days,  and 
at  Janesville  it  was  1.8  inches,  or  9.38  pounds  per  square  foot  per  ten  days.  The 
number  of  inches  of  water  evaporated  from  the  four  evaporhneters  stands:  23.92 
inches  for  the  one  at  Goldsboro;  27.27  inches  at  Upper  Marlboro;  21.74  inches  at 
Lancaster,  and  25.26  at  Janesville. 

From  areas  exactly  equal  to  those  of  the  soil  evapori meters  and  of  the  same  soil, 
but  upon  which  ten  stalks  of  the  "Iowa  Gold  Mine"  corn  matured,  the  total  evapo- 
ration at  Goldsboro  was  25.07  inches,  where  the  yield  computed  per  acre  and  at  15 
per  cent  moisture  of  ears  and  stalks  was  9.8  tons;  at  Upper  Marlboro  the  evapora- 
tion was  20.23  inches  for  a  yield  of  2.6  tons  per  acre;  at  Lancaster  it  was  24.49  inches 
for  7.4  tons  per  acre,  and  at  Janesville  26.81  inches  for  a  yield  of  12  tons  per  acre  of 
ears  and  stalks  computed  to  15  per  cent  of  moisture.  These  yields  per  acre  on  the 
evaporimeters  are  from  one  and  one-half  to  four  times  that  secured  from  the  fields  on 
the  subplats  to  which  no  fertilizers  were  added.  These  relatively  large  yields  are 
due  to  the  facts  that  only  the  surface  9  inches  of  soil  were  used  to  till  the  evapori- 
meters, that  more  plants  were  grown  per  unit  area,  and  that  a  constant  supply  of 
water  was  maintained  in  the  soil.  A  closer  stand  upon  the  ground  was  made  in 
these  trials,  because  it  was  desired  to  tax  the  capacities  of  the  different  soils  to  their 
maximum  limits  of  production,  the  comparative  feeding  power  of  the  soils  being  the 
primary  object  of  this  series  of  observations.  In  order  that  an  abundance  of  sun- 
shine should  be  provided  for  this  closer  stand,  the  evaporimeters  were  located  on  the 
fallow  ground  rather  than  in  the  cornfields  surrounded  by  the  field  corn. 

When  the  rate  of  evaporation  is  expressed  in  inches  per  day  for  the  whole  period 
of  growth  of  the  crop  it  is  found  to  be  at  the  rate  of  about  2.4  inches  per  ten  days  at 
Goldsboro,  1.6  inches  at  LTpper  Marlboro,  and  1.8  inches  for  both  Lancaster  and 
Janesville,  computed  to  the  actual  area  of  the  soil  occupied  by  the  plants.  The  rate 
of  evaporation  at  Janesville  was  a  little  higher  than  that  at  Lancaster,  the  difference 
being  about  2  per  cent.  The  rate  at  Goldsboro,  however,  was  appreciably  higher 
than  either  of  the  other  places,  it  being  about  20  per  cent  above  the  average  for 
Lancaster  and  Janesville. 

From  these  results  it  appears  that  for  the  United  States  east  of  the  Mississippi  the 
mean  rate  of  evaporation  from  June  to  September,  inclusive,  from  a  wet-soil  surface, 
kept  saturated  capillarity,  is  not  very  different  in  different  portions,  and  that  the 
average  is  about  0.96  of  a  pound  per  square  foot  per  day,  or  0.19  inch. 

The  mean  field  yields  secured  from  the  eight  soil  types,  placing  the  four  southern 
soils  in  one  group  and  those  of  the  North  in  a  second  group,  stand:  33.586  bushels  to 
64.324  bushels  of  shelled  corn  per  acre,  computed  to  10  per  cent  moisture,  and  78.356 
bushels  to  213.146  bushels  of  potatoes  per  acre.  It  is  thus  seen  that  the  yield  of  corn 
on  the  northern  soils  has  been  nearly  double  and  that  of  the  potatoes  has  been  2.7 
times  the  yield  of  the  southern  soils,  or  for  the  two  crops  combined  the  northern 
soils  have  given  a  mean  yield  in  bushels  per  acre  2.47  times  the  yield  secured  from 
the  southern  soils  under  conditions  in  every  way  alike,  except  those  due  to  climatic 
differences.  These  ratios  of  yield  are  clearly  not  the  results  of  bad  management  of 
the  southern  soils,  because  for  both  corn  and  potatoes  they  have  been  notably  larger 
than  those  usually  obtained.  The  yields  of  the  northern  soils,  while  good  for  the 
corn,  are  not  large  for  favorable  conditions,  and  for  the  potatoes  the  yields  are  small 
rather  than  good  for  favorable  conditions  of  growth.  It  is  perhaps  not  improbable 
that  the  smaller  yield  of  potatoes  at  the  South  has  been  partly  the  result  of  a  too  high 
soil  temperature,  but  otherwise  the  temperature  relations  have  been  more  favorable 
to  goodyields  in  the  South  than  in  the  North.  The  distribution  and  quantity  of  rain- 
fall during  the  growing  season  was  generally  favorable  to  good  yields,  except  at  Lan- 
caster, where  the  early  season  was  too  dry  and  the  later  too  wet  and  cold.  The  rainfall 
at  the  four  stations  between  April  29  and  September  10  was  19.44  inches  at  Golds- 
boro, 19.78  inches  at  Upper  Marlboro,  18.87  inches  at  Lancaster,  and  18.75  inches  at 
Janesville;  and  there  was  no  period  of  ten  days  after  May  24  with  less  than  0.35  inch 
of  rain  at  either  station.  So,  too,  there  was  no  10-day  period  at  either  station  with 
more  than  3.84  inches,  while  the  heaviest  rainfall  during  any  one  day  was  2.52  inches 
at  Lancaster. 

The  absolute  amounts  of  soil  moisture  carried  by  the  different  soil  types,  when 
expressed  in  inches  for  the  surface  4  feet,  have  not  been  very  different,  the  total 
mean  for  the  season  in  the  surface  4  feet  having  been  13.37  inches  in  the  southern 
soils  and  14.76  inches  in  the  northern,  making  a  total  difference  of  only  1.39  inches, 
or  the  equivalent  of  0.45  inch  of  rainfall  per  foot  of  depth.  In  the  surface  foot  the 
northern  soils  have  carried  a  mean  of  3.03  inches  of  soil  moisture,  while  the  southern 


108 

soils  have  carried  a  mean  of  2.29  inches,  the  difference  being  equivalent  to  0.74  inch 
of  rainfall.  There  is,  therefore,  comparatively  Little  indication  that  the  differences 
in  yield  which  have  been  secured  are  due  to  differences  in  the  absolute  amounts  of 
soil  moisture  present  in  the  different  soil  types  upon  which  the  crops  are  grown. 

The  mean  yields  which  have  been  secured  under  the  different  fertilizations  adopted 
have  been,  using  round  numbers,  for  corn,  57  to  24  bushels  per  acre,  making  33 
bushels  in  favor  of  the  northern  soils  where  nothing  was  added;  64  to  32  bushels, 
making  32  bushels  in  favor  of  the  northern  soils  where  5  tons  of  manure  were  added 
per  acre;  j§9  to  38  bushels,  making  31  bushels  in  favor  of  the  northern  soils  where  10 
tons  of  manure  were  added;  09  to  45  bushels,  making  24  bushels  in  favor  of  the 
northern  soils  where  15  tons  of  manure  Mere  added,  and  04  to  31  bushels,  making  33 
bushels  in  favor  of  the  northern  soils  where  300  pounds  of  Acme  guano  were  added. 

The  mean  yields  of  potatoes,  in  round  numbers,  have  been  169  to  54  bushels  per 
acre,  making  115  bushels  per  acre  in  favor  of  the  northern  soils  where  nothing  was 
added;  211  to  82  bushels,  making  129  bushels  in  favor  of  the  northern  soils  where 
5  tons  of  manure  were  added;  236  to  9(5  bushels,  making  140  bushels  in  favor  of  the 
northern  soils  where  10  tons  of  manure  were  added;  254  to  97  bushels,  making  157 
bushels  in  favor  of  the  northern  soils  where  15  tons  of  manure  were  added;  and  213 
to  79  bushels,  making  134  bushels  per  acre  in  favor  of  the  northern  soils  where  300 
pounds  of  Acme  guano  were  added. 

With  the  southern  soils  5,  10,  and  15  tons  of  stable  manure  have  increased  the 
yields  of  corn  at  the  rates  of  7,  14,  and  20  bushels  per  acre,  while  the  yields  of  pota- 
toes have  been  increased  at  the  rates  of  28,  42,  and  43  bushels  per  acre.  With  the 
northern  soils  5,  10,  and  15  tons  of  stable  manure  have  increased  the  yields  of  corn 
at  the  rates  of  7,  12,  and  12  bushels  per  acre,  and  the  yields  of  potatoes  at  the 
rates  of  42,  67,  and  85  bushels  per  acre.  The  larger  increase  of  potatoes  per  acre  as 
compared  with  the  corn  is  apparent  rather  than  real,  on  account  of  the  fact  that  the 
corn  is  a  much  more  concentrated  product,  containing  much  less  water.  If  we  com- 
pute the  yields  of  shelled  corn  to  the  same  per  cent  of  water  which  the  potatoes  con- 
tain the  increases  in  yield  associated  with  5,  10,  and  15  tons  of  manure  will  stand,  for 
the  southern  soils:  59,  116,  and  169  bushels  per  acre — using  a  weight  of  60  pounds 
per  bushel  instead  of  56 — while  for  the  northern  soils  the  increase  would  be  59,  103, 
and  103  bushels  per  acre. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  stable  manure  has  produced  an  increase  in  yield  of  corn  on 
the  southern  soils  nearly  proportional  to  the  amounts  of  manure  added,  but  the  largest 
amount  not  being  quite  as  effective,  as  indeed  was  to  be  anticipated.  Relatively,  on 
the  northern  soils  the  increase  has  not  been  so  nearly  proportional  to  the  amounts  of 
manure  added,  which  again  is  as  should  be  expected;  first,  because  these  soils  carry 
more  plant  food  in  water  soluble  form  than  the  southern  soils  do,  and  second, 
because  the  season  this  year  has  been  less  favorable  to  corn  in  the  North  than  it  has 
been  in  the  South.  Again,  the  manure  has  been  relatively  more  effective  on  the 
northern  soils  in  increasing  the  yield  of  potatoes  than  it  has  been  on  the  southern 
soils,  and  this  relation,  in  my  judgment,  is  chiefly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  climatic 
conditions  have  been  more  favorable  for  the  potato  crop  in  the  North  than  they 
have  been  in  the  South,  especially  this  year,  which  in  the  North  has  been  unusually 
cool. 

There  has  been  made  a  very  critical  and  somewhat  extensive  comparison  of  the 
amounts  of  plant  food  which  might  be  recovered  by  a  single  three-minute  washing, 
in  distilled  water,  of  these  soils,  and  it  is  found  that  as  an  average  of  48  separate 
determinations  of  each  of  the  surface  4  feet  of  the  eight  types  of  soil  at  the  beginning 
of  the  growing  season,  in  the  middle  of  the  growing  season,  and  at  its  close,  that  in 
the  aggregate  for  the  4  feet  it  was  possible  to  recover  by  a  single  three-minute  washing 
more  than  207  pounds  of  potash  per  acre  from  the  northern  soils  as  against  138  pounds 
per  acre  from  those  of  the  South,  making  a  difference  of  69  pounds  per  acre  more. in 
the  soils  which  have  given  the  largest  crops.  Of  lime,  expressed  as  Ca,  there  was 
washed  out  with  the  distilled  water  more  than  795  pounds  per  acre  from  the  northern 
soils  as  against  300  pounds  from  the  soils  of  the  South,  making  for  this  ingredient  a 
difference  of  495  pounds  per  acre  more  for  the  northern  soils.  In  the  case  of 
magnesia,  expressed  as  Mg,  the  amounts  stand  more  than  273  pounds  for  the  northern 
soils  to  L38  pounds  for  the  southern.  Of  NO.,  the  amounts  are  2S5  pounds  to  94 
pounds.  Of  HP04  the  amounts  stand  204  pounds  for  the  northern  to  111  pounds  for 
the  southern  soils  per  acre.  Of  SO,  there  was  recovered  at  the  rate  of  1,435  pounds 
per  acre  from  the  northern  soils  against  600  pounds  per  acre  from  those  of  the  South. 

In  addition  to  the  potash,  lime,  magnesia,  nitrates,  phosphoric  acid,  and  sulphuric 
acid,  we  have  determined  the  bicnrbonatos,  chlorides,  and  silica,  and  when  the  total 
water-soluble  salts  recoverable  by  a  single  three-minute  washing  in  distilled  water 
from  the  surface  4  feet  of  the  two  groups  of  soils  are  taken  the  amounts  stand  more 
than  3,846  pounds  for  the  northern  soils  as  against  1,635  pounds  per  acre  for  the 


109 

southern  soils.  These  amounts  are  computed  in  round  numbers  on  the  baais  of 
3,000,000  pounds  as  the  mean  weight  of  an  acre-foot  of  dry  soil,  whereas  the  actual 
mean  weight  of  the  surface  4  feet  is  very  nearly  4,000,000  pounds.  The  amounts 
given,  therefore,  are  considerably  under  the  absolute  values. 

In  another  series  of  determinations  of  the  surface  fool  only,  covering  six  different 
periods,  the  mean  total  salts  recoverable  by  three-minute  washings  in  distilled  water 
were  482.45  parts  per  million  of  the  dry  soil  as  a  mean  for  the  two  northern  areas, 
and  192.73  parts  per  million  for  the  two  southern  areas,  making  the  amount  from 
the  northern  soils  2.48  times  that  from  the  southern  soils. 

Taking  the  dry  weight  of  the  surface  foot  at  only  2,000,000  pounds,  which  is  much 
less  than  the  lightest  soil,  the  soil  moisture  of  the  surface  foot  carries  more  than  965 
pounds  per  acre  at  the  North  as  against  385  pounds  per  acre  for  the  South. 

From  several  lines  of  evidence  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  a  three-minute  wash- 
ing of  soils  in  distilled  water,  which  we  have  adopted  arbitrarily  as  a  matter  of  con- 
venience for  our  comparative  studies,  does  not  recover  all  of  the  water-soluble  salts 
which  are  present  in  these  soils.  In  order  to  form  some  idea  of  how  large  amounts 
of  water-soluble  salts  may  be  recovered  by  repeated  washing  in  distilled  water,  two 
series  of  observations  have  been  made  by  repeatedly  washing  the  same  sample  in 
distilled  water  eleven  consecutive  times,  with  alternate  drying  of  the  samples  between 
each  washing.  With  this  treatment  applied  to  the  eight  soil  types  under  compari- 
son, there  were  recovered  from  the  surface  foot  alone  of  the  northern  soils  at  the 
rate  of  699  pounds  of  potash  (expressed  as  K)  against  613  pounds  from  the  southern 
soils.  Of  lime,  there  were  recovered  2,179  pounds  from  the  northern  and  512  pounds 
from  the  southern.  Of  magnesia,  873  pounds  from  the  northern  as  against  290 
pounds  from  the  southern.  Of  nitrates,  431  pounds  from  the  northern  as  against 
211  pounds  from  the  southern.  Of  phosphates  (expressed  as  HP04),  984  pounds 
from  the  northern  as  against  408  pounds  from  the  surface  foot  of  the  southern  soils, 
and  of  S04,  the  amounts  stand  1,800  pounds  from  the  northern  to  736  pounds  from 
the  surface  foot  of  the  southern  soils. 

To  make  sure  that  such  differences  as  these  were  not  accidental,  or  mere  coinci- 
dences, there  have  been  brought  together  into  comparison  live  independent  series  of 
determinations,  three  of  which  represent  the  amounts  recoverable  by  single  three- 
minute  washings,  while  the  other  two  combine  the  amounts  recovered  by  eleven 
repeated  washings  of  the  same  sample.  Two  of  the  three  sets  of  results  obtained  from 
the  three-minute  washings  are  averages  of  long  series  of  observations,  while  the  other 
one  is  a  single  series  of  determinations  made  on  a  set  of  composite  samples  composed 
of  a  large  number  of  soil  cores.  So,  too,  with  the  two  series  of  eleven-times-washed 
soils.     These  are  single  determinations  made  on  composite  samples  of  many  cores. 

When  the  total  water-soluble  salts  recovered  from  these  five  series  are  compared, 
taking  the  amounts  recovered  from  the  southern  soils  as  1  in  every  case,  the  ratios 
stand:  2.22  to  1,  2.48  to  1,  2.09  to  1,  2.37  to  1,  and  2.78  to  1,  the  last  two  ratios  being 
the  eleven-times-washed  soils. 

It  must  be  clear,  I  think,  from  the  ratios  found  for  these  two  groups  of  soils  that 
there  is  a  real  difference  between  them  expressed  by  the  ratios;  and  that,  if  the  abso- 
lute amounts  of  water-soluble  salts  in  these  two  groups  of  soils  are  not  in  the  ratios 
represented,  then  the  amounts  which  can  be  washed  out  from  the  soils  by  using  dis- 
tilled water,  as  has  been  done,  are  represented  by  the  ratios. 

Taking  the  mean  value  of  these  ratios,  the  total  amounts  of  recoverable  water-sol- 
uble salts  by  the  methods  used  stand  2.39  for  the  northern  soils  to  1  for  the  south- 
ern, while  the  mean  yields  of  corn  and  potatoes  from  these  two  groups  of  soils, 
expressed  in  bushels,  stand,  possibly  as  a  mere  chance,  very  nearly  in  the  same  ratio, 
namely,  2.47  to  1. 

When  the  process  of  washing  in  distilled  water  is  reversed  and  a  solution  of  known 
salts  is  passed  through  the  soils  by  percolation,  or  they  are  simply  brought  in  contact 
with  the  solution,  the  different  soils  have  markedly  different  effects  upon  the  solu- 
tion, retaining  the  ingredients  of  the  solution  in  varying  amounts. 

In  one  series  of  observations  on  the  eight  soil  types  under  investigation,  after  sam- 
ples of  them  had  been  eleven  times  washed  in  distilled  water  by  percolation,  there 
was  passed  through  the  same  samples  three  times  in  quick  succession  a  quantity  of  a 
solution  equal  to  five  times  the  dry  weight  of  the  soil  which  carried  300  parts  per 
million  of  K  in  solution,  340  parts  of  lime,  300  parts  of  magnesia,  470  parts  of  NOs,  100 
parts  of  HP04,  and  1,600  parts  of  S<  )A,  the  salts  used  being  calcium  phosphate  ( CaH  I'O, ) 
calcium  nitrate,  potassium  sulphate,  and  magnesium  sulphate.  It  was  found,  after 
passing  this  solution  three  times  through  the  eight  soil  types,  that  they  had  retained, 
as  a  general  average  for  the  eight  soils,  427  parts  per  million  of  their  dry  weight  of 
K,  660  parts  per  million  of  Ca,  753  of  Mg,  269  of  NOs,  120  of  HP04,  and  1,032  of 
S04.  Even  a  freshly  powdered  granite,  composed  of  orthoclase-feldspar,  quail/,  and 
muscovite  mica,  removed  from  the  same  solution  230  parts  per  million  of  its  dry 


110 

weight  of  K,  575  of  Ca,  163  of  Mg,  80  of  N03,  69  of  HPO,,  and  125  of  SO,,  and  yet 
in  each  of  these  trials  the  layer  of  material  through  which  the  solution  percolated 
was  only  about  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch  thick.  The  solution  passed  through  each 
time  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes,  and  was  in  contact  with  the  soil  grains  less  than 
forty-live  minutes. 

In  other  words,  by  using  a  solution  of  the  same  order  of  strength  as  that  which  the 
soil  moisture  would  have  possessed  had  it  carried  in  solution  all  of  the  salts  which 
were  recovered  by  the  eleven-times  washing,  the  identical  samples  became  again 
charged  during  the  short  treatment  with  from  one  to  three  times  the  amounts  of  each 
of  the  ingredients  which  had  been  recovered  from  them  by  eleven-times  washing 
in  distilled  water.  Even  the  freshly  crushed  granite  charged  itself,  under  the  same 
treatment  during  the  brief  period  of  percolation,  with  more  of  each  ingredient,  except 
magnesia  and  SO,,  than  had  been  recovered,  on  the  average,  by  the  eleven-times 
washing  of  the  S  soil  types.  The  solution,  in  percolating  through  the  samples  of  the 
northern  soils,  lost  nearly  double  the  amount  of  potash  that  it  did  in  percolating 
through  the  samples  of  the  southern  soils. 

Through  determinations  of  the  water-soluble  salts  carried  in  the  sap  of  corn  and 
potatoes  growing  upon  the  8  soil  types  at  the  time  the  soil  samples  were  taken  at  the 
close  of  three  periods — 8, 12,  and  14,  taken  June  15,  July  13,  and  July  31,  respectively — 
it  was  found  that  the  plants  of  the  northern  soils  carried  as  a  mean  25,254  parts  per 
million  of  their  water-free  dry  weight  of  potash  as  against  23,900  parts  per  million 
carried  by  the  plants  of  the  southern  soils;  the  lime  stood  2,824  parts  per  million 
of  the  plants  on  the  northern  soils,  and  1,891  parts  per  million  of  those  on  the  south- 
ern; the  magnesia  stood  4,224  for  the  former  and  1,753  for  the  latter;  the  NOs  stood 
18,985  to  7,065;  the  HP04,  5,374  to  5,263;  the  S04,  3,243  to  1,939;  the  HC03,  10,209 
to  9,418;  the  Si02,  164  to  132,  while  the  amounts  of  chlorin  stood  in  the  reverse 
order,  5,495  parts  per  million  in  the  plants  on  the  northern  to  5,972  parts  per  million 
in  those  of  the  southern.  It  is  also  true  that  the  amounts  of  chlorin  recoverable 
from  the  southern  soils  have  been  found  larger  than  those  in  the  northern  soils, 
although  the  amounts  have  been  small  in  both  cases. 

The  mean  total  water-soluble  salts  was  found  to  be  7.58  per  cent  of  the  dry  weight 
of  the  corn  and  potatoes  grown  on  the  northern  soils  and  5.73  per  cent  of  the  dry 
weight  of  the  plants  grown  on  the  southern  soils.  Since  the  dry  matter  produced  on 
the  northern  soils  has  been  more  than  double  that  produced  on  the  southern  soils,  it 
follows  that  the  absolute  amounts  of  water-soluble  salts  recovered  by  the  crops  from 
the  soils  and  still  unassimilated  at  the  times  of  the  sampling  must  have  been  more 
than  double  from  the  northern  soils  what  they  were  from  the  southern  soils.  We 
have  here,  therefore,  an  entirely  independent  line  of  evidence  showing  that  there  is 
a  fundamental  difference  between  these  two  groups  of  soils  which  has  permitted  the 
crops  to  acquire  from  the  soil  moisture  in  the  same  time  more  than  double  the 
amounts  of  wTater-soluble  salts  from  the  northern  soils  of  what  were  acquired  from 
the  southern  soils.  Such  agreement,  too,  gives  us  confidence  in  the  character  of  the 
plan  of  work  followed  through  the  season,  in  the  reliability  and  sensitiveness  of  the 
methods  developed  for  the  work,  and  through  it  we  are  forced  to  see  with  what 
industry,  skill,  and  faithfulness  the  essential  details  have  been  handled  by  the  men 
who  have  done  the  work. 

In  their  relative  capacities  for  nitrification,  too,  there  has  been  found  a  marked 
difference  between  the  four  soils  at  the  South  and  the  four  in  the  northern  group. 
Samples  from  the  surface  foot  of  the  eight  types  of  soil  brought  to  the  optimum  water 
content  and  kept  for  seventy  days  under  like  condition  had  acquired  at  the  end  of 
that  time,  as  indicated  by  single  three-minute  washings  in  distilled  water,  for  the 
northern  soils,  169,  162,  177,  and  143  parts  per  million  of  their  dry  weights  of  N03 
while  the  southern  soils  had  acquired  70,  89,  71,  and  121  parts  per  million  of  their 
dry  weights  of  \( ).,  or  an  average  for  the  four  northern  soils  of  163  and  for  the 
four  southern  soils  88  parts  per  million,  the  northern  soils  having  acquired  double 
the  amounts  of  N08  at  the  end  of  seventy  days  that  the  southern  soils  had  acquired. 

Further  than  this,  the  two  groups  of  soil  differ  in  a  marked  way  in  the  amounts  of 
organic  matter  which  they  carry  recoverable  by  washing  in  distilled  water,  the 
northern  soils  carrying  much  the  larger  amounts,  but  our  methods  for  determining 
these  amounts  are  not  yet  sufficiently  perfected  to  give  us  reliable  quantitative  values 
to  the  differences  between  them. 

in  regard  to  the  difficulties  with  the  southern  soils  and  improvements  in  their 
management,  it  can  be  said  that  the  most  fundamental  difficulty  with  them  is  their 
imperfect  and  feeble  granulation.  It  is  this  imperfect  and  feeble  granulation  which 
gives  the  southern  soils  their  great  tendency  to  wash,  their  small  and  greatly  sub- 
divided pore  space,  and  consequent  imperfect  drainage,  aeration,  slow  capillary 
movement  of  water,  and  the  shallow  depth  of  the  root  zone  of  crops.  All  of  these 
differences  conspire  to  give  a  low  efficiency  to  the  rainfall  of  the  South  and  to  force 


Ill 

the  crops  to  suffer  from  drought  when  the  third  and  sometimes  even  the  second  foot 
of  soil  is  too  wet  for  best  crop  conditions. 

The  southern  soils  are  also  deficient  in  organic  matter,  and,  I  believe,  also  in 
available  water-soluble  salts.  These  difficulties  are  in  part  due  to  bad  management, 
in  part  to  climatic  differences,  and  I  have  no  doubt  partly  also  to  difference  in  origin, 
for  in  this  they  stand,  geologically  speaking,  in  striking  contrast  with  the  newer 
glacial  soils  of*  the  North  which  have  been  formed  so  largely  by  the  mechanical 
grinding  and  mixing  of  fresh  rock  materials  from  widely  varied  sources  rather  than 
by  chemical  disintegration  in  place. 

The  best  way  to  overcome  these  defects  can  not  be  briefly  stated  except  in  the 
most  general  way.  It  is  certain  that  much  may  be  done  by  adopting  different 
methods  of  tillage  and  different  tools.  I  am  satisfied  that  deeper  plowing  and  a  more 
complete  and  deeper  turning  under  of  the  roughage  which  grows  upon  the  fields  is 
imperative.  Much  more  attention  must  be  given  to  systematic  rotation  of  crops,  and 
the  maximum  possibility  of  agriculture  will  never  be  reached  in  the  South,  as  it 
never  has  been  in  the  North,  until  live  stock  is  more  extensively  introduced  and 
proper  attention  given  to  it  as  an  adjunct  to  maintaining  soil  fertility. 

I  believe  we  have  demonstrated  this  year  that  at  Goldsboro,  N.  C,  the  yield  of 
corn  may  be  easily  maintained  at  30  bushels  per  acre  instead  of  at  15  or  less,  as  is 
now  the  case.  Our  heavier  yields  this  year  there  have  been  due  more  largely  to  the 
seed  we  have  used  and  to  the  closeness  of  planting  than  to  the  treatment  given  the 
soil,  although  this,  too,  has  been  important,  The  corn  was  planted  42  inches  each 
way,  with  3  to  4  stalks  in  a  hill,  but  using  the  small  variety  of  corn  which  develops 
much  less  shade.  Side  by  side  with  the  "Iowa  Gold  Mine"  was  planted  the  local 
variety  of  corn,  both  at  Goldsboro  and  at  Upper  Marlboro,  but  with  the  same  result — 
that  it  failed  to  develop  the  proper  ratio  of  ears  to  stalks,  and  for  the  simple  reason, 
I  believe,  that  too  much  shade  was  developed  by  the  heavy  stalks  of  the  Southern 
corn,  for  we  have  the  same  results  in  the  North  even  in  the  long,  warm  seasons,  no 
matter  how  strong  the  soils  may  be,  and  we  get  the  same  results,  too,  with  the 
smaller  varieties  of  corn  if  they  are  planted  too  close. 

The  paper  was  discussed  by  R.  J.  Redding,  of  Georgia,  and  B.  W.  Kilgore,  of 
North  Carolina,  who  questioned  whether  the  conditions  of  the  northern  and  southern 
soils  were  strictly  comparable. 

The  second  meeting  of  the  Section  on  Agriculture  and  Chemistry  was  held  in  the 
banquet  hall  of  the  Shoreham  at  3  o'clock  p.  m.,  Wednesday,  November  18. 

The  section  was  called  to  order  by  its  chairman,  C.  G.  Hopkins,  of  Illinois. 

Extension  and  Practical  Application  of  Soil  Surveys. 

Milton  Whitney,  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  spoke 
as  follows:  v 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Section  :  The  work  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils 
and  the  progress  of  the  soil  survey  is  so  well  known,  scattered  as  it  is  through  so 
many  States,  that  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  dwell  upon  the  purpose  of  the  work.  It 
will  interest  you  possibly  to  hear  of  the  progress  that  has  been  made  up  to  this  time. 
We  have  surveyed  and  mapped  122  areas.  The  work  has  been  carried  on  in  41 
States  and  Territories.  We  have  surveyed  up  to  the  present  time  54,000  square 
miles,  or  about  34,000,000  acres.  The  average  size  of  an  area  is  350  square  miles,  and 
the  average  cost  per  square  mile  has  been  $3.10,  making  about  $1,000  the  cost  for  the 
survey  of  the  average-sized  area. 

In  addition  to  the  actual  field  work  of  the  survey  provided  for  by  Congress  in  a 
general  fund  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  from  which  an  allotment 
was  made  this  year  of  about  $80,000,  there  is  also  provision  for  the  printing  of  the 
reports  and  maps.  This  is  done  by  Congress  in  such  a  way  that  we  have  no  control 
over  the  expenditure  of  the  money.  The  printing  of  these  reports  is  very  expensive, 
and  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  printing  of  the  reports  and  maps  costs  just  about  as  much 
as  the  work  itself.  It  has  been  possible  through  the  more  efficient  organization  of 
the  Soil  Survey  to  steadily  reduce  the  cost  of  the  field  work.  We  keep  our  parties 
in  the  field  now  all  the  year — in  the  northern  States  during  the  summer  and  in  the 
southern  States  during  the  winter.  We  have  just  issued  a  statement  of  our  winter 
assignments,  taking  all  our  parties  from  the  northern  areas  into  the  Gulf  States. 
We  have  twenty  parties  working  thus  continuously  all  through  the  year,  and  it  is 
needless  to  say  that  we  have  accomplished  and  are  doing  a  large  amount  of  work. 
The  map  here  shows  the  location  and  size  of  the  areas  that  have  been  surveyed  up 
to  this  time. 


112 

Three  reports  have  been  published  and  the  fourth  is  about  to  come  out.  Reprints 
of  many  reports  on  the  separate  areas  have  already  been  received.  The  fifth  report 
is  in  preparation  and  will  be  ready  to  goto  the  printer  about  the  middle  of  February. 
Congress  has  ordered  a  large  edition  of  17,000  copies  of  the  bound  report  for  distribu- 
tion. This  gives  each  Representative  only  about  1<>  copies,  and  each  Senator  about 
33  copies,  and  the  Department  of  Agriculture  8,000  copies.  The  Secretary  last  year 
recommended  a  change  in  the  method  of  publishing  and  distributing  the  reports, 
asking  that  leave  be  granted  to  publish  advance  sheets,  so  that  reports  of  each  area 
can  be  sent  to  the  printer  as  soon  as  the  work  is  completed  instead  of  having  to  wait 
until  the  middle  of  February,  when  the  year's  work  is  finished,  and  thus  keeping 
the  reports  in  the  office  from  eight  to  twelve  months  after  the  held  work  is  com- 
pleted. The  bill  failed  of  passage  in  the  last  days  of  the  last  Congress,  but  it  is  prob- 
able that  such  a  change  will  be  enacted  at  the  coming  session.  This  will  give  each 
Representative  in  whose  district  the  survey  is  made  2,000  copies,  and  will  give  each 
Senator  from  that  State  500  copies,  and  the  Department  of  Agriculture  1,000  copies 
tor  its  use.  In  the  edition  of  17,000  copies  the  maps  cost  about  9  cents  apiece,  so 
that  a  reprint  is  not  very  expensive,  although  the  aggregate  cost  of  this  large  edition 
is  very  great. 

With  twenty  parties  continuously  in  the  field,  spending  from  three  to  six  or  nine 
months  in  an  area,  the  Bureau  is  getting  hold  of  a  vast  fund  of  information  about 
localities,  about  the  possibilities  of  changing  the  methods  of  cultivation,  and  the  pos- 
sibilities of  introducing  new  crops  and  new  industries,  but  in  the  continual  move- 
ment of  our  parties  from  area  to  area,  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  take  the  time  to 
impress  in  any  other  way  than  through  their  reports  these  facts  upon  the  fanners. 
It  is  inadvisable  for  us  to  leave  them  in  an  area  longer  than  the  time  necessary  to 
make  their  survey  and  finish  their  report,  so  that  much  of  the  good  of  the  informa- 
tion obtained  by  the  Bureau  is  lost — is  buried — and  has  little  effect  upon  the  people. 
As  you  know,  matters  treated  of  in  reports  of  this  kind  are  lightly  passed  over,  espe- 
cially so  by  a  conservative  class  of  farmers  such  as  we  have.  In  many  cases  it  has 
been  possible  for  us  to  force  these  matters  upon  the  attention  of  the  people  by  actual 
demonstration  work,  as,  with  the  introduction  of  the  Sumatra  tobacco  in  the  Con- 
necticut Valley;  as  we  are  doing  in  the  introduction  of  the  Cuban  filler  leaf  on  cer- 
tain soils  that  we  have  encountered  in  the  South;  as  with  the  demonstration  work 
we  are  doing  in  the  reclamation  of  alkali  lands  in  the  West,  where  it  has  been  taught 
for  years  that  certain  methods  could  be  used  for  the  reclamation  of  these  lands,  but 
no  active  movement  lias  ever  been  started  for  their  actual  preservation  and  reclama- 
tion. The  Bureau  is  now  able,  through  its  appropriations,  to  take  up  certain  tracts 
for  demonstration.  We  have  three  such  alkali  tracts  now  in  process  of  reclamation, 
and  we  are  taking  up  three  more — six  tracts  in  different  parts  of  the  country — where 
we  are  actually  reclaiming  alkali  fields  and  are  attracting  attention  that  we  could  not 
expect  to  get  from  the  publications  alone. 

In  the  classification  of  the  soils  of  an  area  and  the  collection  of  data  relative  to  the 
uses  they  can  be  put  to,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  have  all  the  information  we  can  get 
through  any  means  that  may  be  necessary  as  to  the  use  of  the  soils  for  crops,  and  as 
to  the  necessity  for  different  methods  for  their  proper  and  most  economical  use. 
One  of  the  most  important  subjects  that  has  appealed  to  us,  and,  as  you  will  recog- 
nize, appeals  to  anyone,  is  the  manipulation  and  handling  of  the  soil  for  any  particular 
crop  it  is  desired  to  grow. 

One  of  the  most  important  problems  in  connection  with  this  has  been  the  relation 
of  the  chemistry  of  the  soil  to  crop  production;  a  subject  that  has  vexed  the  world 
for  the  past  seventy-live  or  one  hundred  years.  What  relation  is  there  between  the 
plant  food  in  the  soil  and  the  yields  obtained  by  ordinary  methods  of  cultivation? 
It  has  seemed  to  me  that  one  of  the  most  important  lines  of  work  that  the  Bureau 
could  take  up,  an  essential  feature  of  the  work  of  the  Bureau,  was  to  do  all  we  could 
to  develop  and  extend  information  along  these  as  well  as  along  physical  lines.  We 
have  just  published,  as  you  are  all  aware,  a  bulletin,  No.  22,  on  certain  conclusions 
we  have  arrived  at  from  investigations  on  the  chemistry  of  the  soil  as  related  to  crop 
production. 

Since  this  bulletin  was  published  we  have  continued  our  investigations  and  have 
obtained  many  new  results,  and  as  I  have  been  aware  that  a  great  deal  of  interest  has 
been  shown  in  this  bulletin  and  some  misunderstanding,  perhaps,  of  the  purpose  and 
scope  of  the  work,  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  it  would  be  well  in  connection  with  my 
talk  to-day  to  take  you  into  my  confidence  a  little  bit  more,  I  regret  to  say,  than  I 
would  otherwise  like  to  at  this  stage  of  the  work.  We  are  not  quite  ready  to  publish 
our  results;  the  investigation  is  not  completed;  and  I  speak  of  these  matters  rather 
unwillingly,  because  I  should  like  to  have  presented  them  as  a  finished  result  rather 
than  in  the  preliminary  way  in  which    I   shall  have  to  ask  you  to  receive  them  now. 

The  subject  was  left  in  Bulletin  22  with  the  general  statement  that  our  investiga- 


113 

tions  showed  no  necessary  relation  between  the  amount  of  plant  food  as  determined 
by  our  methods  and  the  yields  of  crops;  that  is  to  say,  that  high  yields  were  nol 
associated  necessarily  with  high  amounts  of  plant  food,  and  the  reverse;  that  the  use 
of  fertilizers,  which  we  all  admit  are  beneficial  to  the  soil,  could  not  under  thin  rea- 
soning be  for  the  amount  of  plant  food  they  added  to  the  soil,  hut  it  has  seemed  evi- 
dent that  the  effect  must  be  due  to  some  other  cause,  which,  as  the  coroner's  jury 
would  say,  "is  unknown  at  present  to  the  jury."  Further,  it  has  seemed  evident  to 
us  that  the  effect  was  probably  associated  with  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil,  as 
there  were  certain  evidences  that  would  lead  us  to  think  that  the  trouble,  in  many 
cases  at  least,  was  a  lack  of  a  suitable  moisture  supply  for  the  needs  of  the  crop. 
For  example,  on  our  Susquehanna  clay  which  we  find  in  large  area-  between  here  and 
Baltimore,  the  vegetation  has  the  desert  characteristics;  the  leaves  protect  themselves 
against  evaporation,  and  only  certain  classes  of  plants  are  found,  although  we  know 
that  the  soil  has  an  ample  supply  of  moisture  as  measured  by  the  moisture  determina- 
tions made  in  the  laboratory.  We  have  long  recognized  that  the  infertility  of  this 
soil  is  not  associated  with  a  low  food  content,  as  analyses  had  shown  no  difference  either 
in  the  physical  or  in  the  chemical  properties  as  compared  with  the  limestone  soils  of 
Pennsylvania  and  western  Maryland. 

Starting  from  this  point,  therefore,  where  Bulletin  22  left  off,  we  made  a  thorough 
investigation  of  the  physical  properties  of  the  soils  with  particular  reference  to  the 
movement  of  water,  believing,  as  we  did  at  that  time,  that  fertility  was  at  least 
largely  dependent  upon  the  movement  of  water  with  its  dissolved  salt  content  to 
the  roots  of  the  plants.  We  thought  we  should  find  that  certain  soils  were  unable 
to  supply  the  necessary  amount  of  plant  food,  simply  because  they  were  physically 
unable  to  deliver  to  the  plant  an  adequate  amount  of  this  nutrient  solution.  After  a 
very  thorough  investigation  of  the  problem,  we  found,  to  our  surprise,  that  there  is 
practically  no  difference  in  the  rate  of  movement  of  water  in  soils,  even  of  very  dif- 
ferent texture,  when  you  have  the  amount  below  the  optimum  and  considerably 
below  the  point  of  saturation  of  the  soils.  We  had  to  devise  new  methods  for  the 
study  of  this  subject,  for  the  old  methods  of  investigation,  where  we  allow  water  to 
percolate  through  the  soils  or  where  we  allow  water  to  climb  up  by  capillary  attrac- 
tion through  dry  or  moist  soils,  give  us  conditions  that  are  entirely  unlike  field  con- 
ditions. We  never  grow  an  agricultural  plant  under  such  conditions  at  all.  It  is, 
for  the  most  part,  of  little  interest  to  us  to  know  what  amount  of  water  the  soil  can 
move  if  there  is  an  optimum  maintained  at  all  times.  The  important  thing  was  what 
the  soil  would  deliver  after  it  had  become  partially  dried — that  is,  after  it  was 
approaching  the  drought  limit.  There  was  the  place  where  we  would  expect  to  find 
the  individual  characteristics  of  the  soil  that  would  affect  crop  production,  so  that 
our  aim  was  to  study  the  movement  in  soils  far  short  of  saturation  and  below  the 
optimum  water  content  for  the  plant. 

It  will  be  impossible,  in  the  short  space  of  time  that  I  have  now,  to  go  into  the 
details  of  the  investigation.  That  will  all  be  presented  in  sufficient  detail  in  the 
publication  that  we  "will  probably  issue  in  a  short  time.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  we 
have  found  that,  in  a  soil  below  the  point  of  optimum  water  content,  the  water  has 
very  different  properties  from  what  we  recognize  in  water  in  mass.  It  does  not  obey 
the  ordinary  physical  laws  as  we  recognize  them  in  capillarity,  nor  does  it  obey  the 
laws  of  electricity  as  we  recognize  them  in  solution  in  mass.  In  other  words,  water 
in  a  slightly  moist  soil  has  lost  some  of  the  properties  that  we  attribute  to  water  in 
mass.  Now,  why  this  is  we  do  not  know.  The  electrical  conductivity  is  very  much 
higher  in  this  water;  it  is  fifteen  times  as  high  in  a  moderately  moist  sand  as  it  ought 
to  be.  We  do  not  know  where  it  has  gone;  we  do  not  know  what  has  become  of  it; 
we  do  not  know  what  has  happened  to  it.  It  may  be  due  to  the  thinness  of  the 
film.  We  have  not  been  able  to  get  these  results  with  soap  bubbles,  however  thin 
we  may  blow  them.  We  believe  that  the  film  in  the  soil  is  much  thicker  than  in 
the  bubble  with  which  we  have  compared  it.  At  any  rate,  all  I  want  to  tell  you 
now  is  that  the  electrical  properties  of  the  water  in  a  moderately  moist  soil  are 
different  from  those  in  the  saturated  soil,  and  different  from  the  properties  of  liquid 
in  mass.  Another  thing  is  that  moisture  in  a  moderately  moist  soil  that  is  below  the 
optimum  quantity  for  plant  growth  does  not  obey  the  ordinary  laws  of  capillary 
movement.  There  is  a  change.  What  it  is  due  to  we  do  not  know,  but  the  move- 
ment in  these  moderately  moist  soils  is  entirely  different  from  the  relative  rate  of 
movement  of  water  in  percolation  experiments  or  in  the  capillary  rise  through  moist 
or  dry  sands. 

As,  however,  we  have  found  no  relation  between  the  delivery  of  water  from  a  dry 
and  moderately  moist  soil,  whether  it  be  a  light  sand  or  an  apparently  impervious 
brick  clay,  it  was  obvious  that  it  was  not  in  this  respect  that  we  should  look  for  the 

21736— No.  142—04 8 


114 

solution  of  the  question  of  fertility.  However,  to  determine  definitely,  once  for  all, 
whether  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  using  this  word  as  I  do  in  this  connection  to  indi- 
cate the  possibility  of  plant  growth  from  the  composition  of  the  soil — I  am  using 
it  in  a  limited  sense  to-day — to  see  it  this  was  related  to  the  physical  properties  of  the 
soil  or  to  the  chemical  properties,  we  made  an  extract  of  the  soil  according  to  a  con- 
ventional method  of  analysis,  that  is,  by  using  1,000  grams  of  soil  and  1,200  cubic 
centimeters  of  water,  stirring  for  three  minutes,  allowing  twenty  minutes  to  settle, 
and  filtering  through  a  Pasteur  filter,  which  removes  the  clay  and  incidentally  the 
bacteria.  Then  we  grew  plants  in  the  water  culture  so  prepared  and  found  that  the 
plants  grown  in  these  solutions  exhibited  the  same  characteristics  as  the  plants  grown 
in  the  soils  from  which  the  solutions  were  derived,  showing  that  we  had  transferred 
the  limiting  conditions  of  fertility  from  the  soil  into  the  solution  that  had  been  pre- 
pared. It  was  therefore  evident  that  the  limiting  conditions  of  fertility  did  not  exist 
in  the  physical  properties  of  the  soil. 

With  that  indication  before  us  we  again  took  up  the  investigation  of  the  chemical 
constitution  of  the  soil,  directing  our  attention  particularly  to  the  molecular  combi- 
nation of  the  salts — that  is  to  say,  whether  the  character  of  the  salt  itself  had  any 
effect  upon  the  plant,  as  we  helieved  from  our  investigations  in  Bulletin  22  that  the 
actual  amounts  of  potash,  lime,  and  phosphoric  acid  were  not  associated  ordinarily 
with  crop  production. 

The  first  thing  that  we  found  was  that  it  was  possible  to  determine  easily  the 
functional  activity  of  the  plant  in  these  different  solutions,  prepared  from  good  and 
from  poor  soils — that  is,  from  fertile  and  infertile  soils — by  growing  them  either  in 
soil  extracts  or  in  the  soil  itself,  by  measuring  the  relative  transpiration  of  the  plant. 
Transpiration,  as  you  will  observe,  is  in  a  sense  a  measure  of  respiration — that  is, 
it  can  be  taken  as  a  relative  measure  of  that  if  you  have  plants  under  the  same 
conditions  of  sunlight,  heat,  and  ventilation.  Transpiration  is  the  evaporation  of 
water  from  the  leaves.  It  is  not  an  essential  thing  in  itself,  but  accidental  and  inci- 
dental to  the  respiration  of  the  plant,  just  as  the  loss  of  water  through  the  lungs  is 
incidental  to  the  breathing  of  a  person.  It  can,  however,  be  taken  as  a  measure  of 
the  functional  activity  of  the  plant,  and  we  have  so  used  it. 

One  of  the  first  things  we  found  was  that  plants  grown  in  extracts  of  poor  soils,  or 
on  the  poor  soils  themselves,  transpired  much  less  water  than  plants  grown  in  the 
good  solutions  or  on  the  good  soils.  They  were  functionally  less  active.  It  takes 
about  six  to  nine  days  to  notice  the  difference,  however.  After  that  the  plants  in 
the  poor  solutions  evidently  suffered.  They  did  not  act  as  though  there  were  a  toxic 
substance  in  the  soil  or  as  though  they  were  poisoned,  because  the  daily  rate  of 
transpiration  would  then  have  gone  up  to  a  maximum  and  fallen  again,  as  we  have 
frequently  observed.  On  the  contrary,  transpiration  went  right  on,  but  the  daily 
increment  of  solution  used — that  is,  the  daily  plant  food  used — was  greater  always 
on  the  good  soil  than  on  the  poor  soil.  This  difference  appeared  usually  from  six  to 
nine  days  after  the  seedlings  were  started,  and  the  curves  representing  the  transpi- 
ration continued  to  diverge  in  a  very  marked  way,  so  that  soils  can  be  easily  recog- 
nized by  their  behavior  to  the  transpiration  and  respiration  of  the  plant.  Now7,  it 
seemed  important  to  find  out  the  cause  of  this,  and  it  was  finally  located  in  the  effect 
of  the  salts  on  the  roots.  In  the  solutions  that  showTed  a  very  low  transpiration,  the 
tips  of  the  roots — the  growing  part,  the  part  that  absorbs  water — had  thickened  up 
and  corked  over.  It  was  not  able  to  absorb  as  it  did  before.  On  the  contrary,  roots 
growing  in  the  solutions  from  the  good  soils  remained  perfectly  clear,  transparent, 
and  healthy,  and  showed  no  tendency  to  this  corking  or  thickening  or  hardening  or 
whatever  it  may  be.  It  appears  that  the  salt  itself,  or  the  complex  that  may  exist 
in  the  soil  combination,  or  whatever  it  may  be  that  exists  in  solution  in  the  soil,  may 
have  a  more  or  less  irritating  effect  on  the  root,  and  if  it  is  irritating  the  root  corks 
over  and  shuts  itself  up,  so  to  speak,  so  that  it  will  get  rid  of  this  irritating  substance. 
As  soon  as  the  root  adjusts  itself  to  this  condition,  in  order  to  prevent  wilting  the 
leaves  adjust  themselves  to  the  root,  so  that  there  is  actually  less  transpiration  than 
if  this  irritation  had  not  been  set  up  at  the  root.  It  is  well  known  to  all  of  you  that 
it  is  possible  to  almost  entirely  prevent  the  transpiration  of  water  and  to  starve  a 
plant  in  a  very  strong  culture  solution. 

Then  one  of  the  important  questions  was  whether  the  nature  of  the  salt  had  much 
to  do  with  this  transpiration  and  with  the  effects  on  the  roots.  For  this  purpose  we 
made  up  a  number  of  solutions  with  potassium,  calcium,  magnesium,  sodium,  and 
ammonium,  combined  with  different  acids,  to  give  nitrates,  chlorids,  phosphates, 
sulphates,  and  carbonates,  and  by  adding  these  same  bases  in  the  amounts  per  million 
of  water,  in  different  combinations  with  the  acids,  as,  for  example,  first  as  nitrate  of 
potash,  sulphate  of  lime,  and  so  on,  and  then  as  nitrates  of  lime  and  sulphate  of  pot- 
ash, and  going  around  changing  the  character  of  the  salts  containing  the  same 
amount  of  essential  plant-food  bases,  we  got  very  different  results  in  the  functional 


115 

activities  of  the  plants.  So  far  as  we  can  see  now,  the  development  of  the  plant,  its 
functional  activity,  is  not  dependent  upon  the  quantity  of  plant  food  in  solution,  hut 
upon  the  character  of  the  plant  food.  Plants  will  grow  as  well — that  is,  have  the 
same  functional  activities  -in  a  soil  solution  which  has  a  resistance  of  ."),()()()  ohms  in 
our  electrolytic  cell  as  they  will  in  the  culture  solution  made  up  of  these  different 
salts  with  a  resistance  in  our  cell  of  250  ohms;  that  is,  there  is  ten  or  fifteen  times  as 
much  plant  food  in  one  as  in  the  other,  and  yet  there  is  no  apparent  difference  in  the 
development  of  the  plant,  no  apparent  difference  in  the  functional  activities  of  the 
plant,  It  breathes  as  well,  it  feeds  as  well  from  these  dilute  as  from  the  more  con- 
centrated solutions;  hut  when  we  put  a  trace  of  lime  or  a  trace  of  manure  extract  or 
a  trace  of  some  of  the  salts  that  are  used  in  fertilizer  work  or  ordinarily  applied  to 
the  soil,  to  either  the  stronger  or  more  dilute  culture  solution,  we  may  change,  to  a 
marked  degree,  the  functional  activities  of  the  plant  and  make  it  altogether  a  different 
soil  or  a  different  solution  as  regards  the  growth  or  development  of  the  crop. 

Our  experience,  since  Bulletin  22  was  issued,  indicates  very  clearly  that  the  amount 
of  plant  food  in  solution  does  not  affect  the  character  of  the  crop  within  very  wide 
limits,  hut  that  the  character  of  the  salt  in  this  solution,  or  the  character  of  the  salt 
added  to  the  solution,  has  an  important  and  remarkable  effect  in  many  cases  on  the 
development  of  the  plant.  It  seems  as  though  the  potash  salts  were  not  needed  by 
the  plant  as  an  additional^  source  of  food.  You  can  safelv  Use  potassium  chlorid  or 
potassium  nitrate  or  potassium  phosphate  or  potassium  sulphate,  although  they  appear 
to  have  somewhat  differenteffectson  plants— possibly  have  different  effects  on  different 
plants.  We  have  not  gone  far  enough  to  determine  this  definitely.  But  when  you 
add  the  other  potash  salts,  such  as  potassium  chlorate,  which  has  potash  and  chlo- 
rin  associated  with  oxygen,  you  get  an  entirely  different  effect,  and  it  can  not  be 
substituted  at  all  for  potassium  chlorid.  You  have  the  potash  and  the  chlorin,  but 
the  potassium  chlorate  has  different  properties  as  a  salt  from  potassium  chlorid,  and 
it  is  unquestionably  a  fact  that  the  influence  of  these  salts  is  felt  not  only  through  the 
ions,  but  through  the  undissociated  portion  of  the  salt,  if  there  be  any  present.  In 
this  respect  it  is  quite  analagous  to  the  effect  of  salts  on  the  human  system.  We  take 
sodium  chlorid  as  a  necessary  salt  to  aid  digestion.  You  can  not  successfully  sub- 
stitute ammonium  chlorid,  still  less  could  you  substitute  potassium  chlorate  as  a 
source  of  chlorin.  One  combination  of  mercury  and  chlorin  is  used  as  a  medicine; 
another  combination  is  deadly  poison  to  the  system;  both  contain  mercury;  both 
have  chlorin;  it  is  not  in  any  one  of  these  but  in  the  combination  that  the  effect  is 
felt.  So  it  seems  to  be  in  the  case  of  the  plant.  Potassium  sulphate  may  be  health- 
ful; it  may  prevent  the  plant  from  corking  up;  it  may  protect  it  from  the  irritating 
condition  of  the  soil.  How  it  is  accomplished  I  do  not  know,  but  I  have  seen  the 
effect.  Potassium  chromate  will  cause  the  plant  to  cork  up  very  quickly,  and  will 
check  the  transpiration  so  rapidly  and  completely  that  the  plant  can  not  adjust  itself 
to  its  conditions  and  live,  so  the  plant  dies. 

Another  very  interesting  thing — a  very  significant  thing — that  has  developed  is 
that,  if  the  plants  are  growing  with  their  roots  freely  exposed  to  the  moist  air  above 
the  culture  solution  or  to  the  moist  air  at  the  side  of  the  soils,  these  deleterious  influ- 
ences that  seem  to  exist  in  the  poor  soils  do  not  affect  them  appreciably.  In  some 
of  our  earlier  experiments  plants  were  grown  in  about  400  grams  of  soil  in  glass 
tumblers.  The  transpiration  was  measured,  but  we  got  no  differences  from  different 
soils  compared  with  what  we  got  in  larger  pots.  After  a  great  deal  of  work  and  a 
great  many  experiments  had  been  tried  we  found  that  the  roots  were  confined  almost 
entirely  to  the  air  space  between  the  soil  and  the  glass  formed  by  the  contraction  of 
the  soil.  The  roots  formed  a  network  around  the  soil.  They  were  not  actually 
growing  in  the  soil,  but  half  in  and  half  out  of  the  soil,  and  the  development  of  the 
hair  roots  was  most  marked.  They  looked  like  plumes.  Even  after  weeks  of 
growth  they  showed  none  of  the  characteristics  of  plants  growing  in  the  larger 
masses  of  soils  or  in  the  soil  solutions.  Then  an  attempt  was  made  to  see  if  in  the 
culture  solution  prepared  from  the  soils,  with  an  equal  amount  of  aeration  as  in  the 
tumblers,  these  differences  in  the  different  soil  solutions  would  disappear,  and  the  evi- 
dence is  that  they  do  disappear.  That  is,  if  you  let  the  solution  trickle  down  the 
roots,  or  if  you  give  the  plant  an  intermittent  watering;  or,  if  they  are  put  in  test 
tubes  and  the  water  allowed  to  drop  slowly  upon  them  and  arrange  that  the  tube 
when  filled  be  automatically  emptied  by  a  siphon,  leaving  the  roots  exposed  for  a 
time,  these  differences  disappear;  we  get  normal  roots  in  solutions  which  when 
grown  without  that  treatment  give  us  a  root  system  that  is  corked  up  and  undeveloped 
and  impossible  of  further  development,  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  our  position 
in  Bulletin  22  in  that  respect  is  confirmed — that  the  use  of  fertilizers,  at  least  some- 
times, appears  to  have  the  same  effect  as  good  cultivation,  and  it  appears  now  that 
if  we  have  perfect  aeration,  such  as  we  get  in  a  small  volume  of  soil,  and  conditions 
where  the  root  can  grow  half  in  the  soil  and  half  in  the  air,  these  differences  disap- 


116 

pear,  and  fertile  and  poor  spoils  grow  plants  of  equal  vigor  and  feeding  capacity. 
When  the  soil  is  removed  from  the  tumbler  and  dipped  in  hot  paraffin  to  cut  off 
the  supply  of  air,  there  is  no  longer  any  tendency  for  the  roots  to  come  to  the  sur- 
face as  they  can  get  no  air  there,  and,  with  a  soil  so  prepared  by  the  use  of  hot  par- 
affin after  the  plants  are  started,  the  characteristics  of  the  soil  then  appeared  as 
shown  in  the  transpiration. 

It  appears  that  with  soils  of  this  character  you  can  get  better  effects,  you  can 
improve  the  functional  activities  of  the  plant,  either  by  giving  it  more  air — as  by 
growing  it  in  that  small  pot,  under  the  conditions  described — or  by  the  use  of  ferti- 
lizers and  chemicals,  which  may  have  the  effect  on  the  plant  to  protect  it  from  this 
hardening  or  the  formation  of  cork,  or  whatever  physiological  effect  it  maybe  which 
limits  and  controls  the  functional  activities  and  feeding  capacity  of  the  plant. 

It  would  seem  possible,  therefore,  to  develop  a  method  along  these  lines  by  which 
the  fertilizer  requirements  of  a  soil  can  be  closely  determined,  as  nearly  and  perhaps 
more  certainly  than  they  could  have  been  by  the  older  methods  of  chemical  analysis 
that  we  all  have  long  hoped  would  be  able  to  solve  these  same  questions.  It  will  never 
be  possible,  however,  by  this  or  any  other  method,  to  tell  what  can  be  advantageously 
used  on  a  soil  during  a  subsequent  year.  We  know  that  in  certain  seasons  potash 
will  do  good;  in  other  seasons  phosphoric  acid  will  do  good.  The  character  of  the 
season  probably  has  a  great  effect  in  modifying  the  action  of  these  salts  in  solution 
upon  the  physiological  activities  of  the  plant.  It  will  never  be  possible  to  tell  what 
any  particular  soil  will  need  unless  we  know  what  the  character  of  the  season  is 
going  to  be.  The  only  thing  we  can  hope  to  do  will  be  to  tell  what  that  soil  will 
respond  to  under  certain  conditions  under  which  we  can  place  it,  and  then,  I  pre- 
sume, take  our  chances  on  having  the  results  come  out  as  we  expect  them  to  do 
under  field  conditions. 

It  seems  probable,  therefore,  that  we  shall  be  able  to  develop  a  method  that  can 
be  used  in  the  field  for  the  study  of  the  condition  of  the  soil  as  related  to  the  growth 
and  functional  activities  of  the  plant,  and  that  we  shall  be  able,  possibly,  to  determine 
how  far  we  can  change  them  by  methods  of  aeration  or  by  methods  of  physical 
treatment;  but  certainly,  I  think,  it  is  going  to  be  possible  for  us  to  determine  what 
fertilizers  can  be  used  to  correct  these  difficulties  under  the  conditions  of  our  experi- 
ment, which  is  a  long  way  ahead  of  anything  that  we  have  at  the  present  time. 

There  probably  will  be  a  great  deal  of  criticism,  a  great  many  questions  to  be  asked, 
a  great  many  questions  to  be  solved,  but  I  believe  this  matter  can  be  put  on  a  proper 
basis  and  can  be  thoroughly  worked  out.  One  of  the  questions  to  be  asked  is:  What 
is  the  reason  the  different  forms  of  phosphoric  acid  produce  different  results  as  to 
plant  growth?  Now,  it  seems  to  me  that  is  easily  answered  if  we  consider  that  the 
insoluble  phosphate  of  lime  and  the  reverted  phosphate  and  the  acid  phosphate  of 
lime  are  different  salts.  They  are  altogether  different  salts  and  have  different  prop- 
erties— have  different  properties  in  solution,  have  different  effects  on  plants.  It 
seems  to  me  it  can  not  be  the  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  that  these  various  salts  add 
to  the  soil.  The  solubility  of  calcium  phosphate  is  about  six  parts  of  lime  in  a  mil- 
lion parts  of  water.  That  is  strong  enough  for  plants  to  grow  in.  It  is  as  strong  as 
many  of  our  soil  solutions,  so  that  the  plant  can  get  from  the  solution  of  the  so-called 
insoluble  calcium  phosphate  enough  phosphoric  acid  for  its  needs.  The  effect  of 
these  different  forms  of  salts  appears  to  us  to  be  due  to  some  external  influence  they 
have  upon  the  conditions  of  the  roots,  so  that  the  roots  may  make  a  more  or  less 
healthy  development,  and  will  present  more  or  less  of  an  absorbent  surface.  You 
understand  that  the  tips  of  the  roots,  which  absorb  the  moisture,  do  not  continue  in 
this  state  for  an  indefinite  time,  but  for  only  a  short  time.  The  tip  of  the  root  is 
active  but  for  a  few  days  at  most  in  ordinary  soils.  After  it  has  existed  for  that 
length  of  time  it  hardens  and  becomes  nonabsorbent  to  a  great  extent,  and  the  tip 
grows  out  and  presents  constantly  a  new  surface  for  the  absorption  of  its  moisture 
and  food  material.  This  is  another  question  that  I  might  have  referred  to  further 
back  in  my  talk.  The  fact  that  these  tips  are  constantly  growing  makes  it  relatively 
unimportant  for  us  to  know  how  much  water  the  soil  can  deliver  at  a  given  point. 
If  the  soil  were  delivering  at  the  roots  so  many  grams  per  day,  we  need  not  assume 
that  it  could  deliver  this  quantity  continually  until  the  water  supply  was  exhausted, 
as  there  would  be  no  object  in  delivering  water  at  that  point,  for  the  root  is  going 
to  grow  and  get  into  another  portion  of  soil  where  it  will  get  a  fresh  supply  of  water 
and  of  food. 

Without  going  into  a  great  deal  more  detail  than  our  time  will  permit,  I  think  I 
have  given  a  statement,  brief  and  to  the  point,  of  the  facts  as  we  have  developed  them 
so  far  governing  the  fertility  of  the  soil  as  dependent  on  this  chemical  question.  It 
seems  to  be  not  dependent  upon  the  amount  of  material  so  much  as  upon  the  char- 
acter of  the  material  and  the  effect  of  that  material  upon  the  absorbent  power  of  the 
plant.     That  we  can  influence  this  is  unquestionable,  because  the  experiments  are 


117 

easily  performed,  and  when  this  work  is  presented  to  the  public,  as  I  hope  it  soon 
will  be,  the  methods  will  be  fully  described,  and  it  will  he  a  simple  problem  for  any 
one  of  yon  to  use  this  method  in  developing  new  and  important  fields  of  research  as 
to  the  chemistry  of  the  soil  and  its  relation  to  crop  production.  The  work  is  not 
going  to  be  finished  with  the  publication  of  this  new  bulletin;  it  will  have  only  begun. 
It  is  going  to  open  new  fields  and  new  ideas  and  new  possibilities  of  studying  this 
fundamental  question  of  the  relation  of  soils  to  crop  production. 

If  there  are  any  questions  that  I  have  not  made  clear,  or  that  any  of  you  want  to  be 
informed  upon,  I  shall  he  very  glad  to  have  the  questions  asked. 

L.  II.  Bailey,  of  New  York,  asked  some  questions  regarding  the  specific  physi- 
ological effect  of  fertilizers,  which  Professor  Whitney  said  had  not  yet  been  definitely 
determined. 

Chemistry  of  Soils  as  Related  to  Croc  Production — Bureau  ok  Soils  Bulletin 

No.  22.  a 

The  following  paper,  by  E.  W.  Hilgard,  of  California,  on  this  subject,  was  read  by 
C.  E.  Thorne: 

The  following  quotations  will  best  define  the  scope  of  this  bulletin  of  seventy-one 
pages  and  the  theses  which  it  is  intended  to  establish  and  maintain: 

Page  7.  "The  investigations  made  by  the  Bureau  of  Soils  during  the  last  ten  years 
have  shown  that  the  economic  distribution  of  crops  is  dependent  mainly  upon  the 
physical  characters  of  soils  and  upon  climate." 

Page  13.  "Briefly  stated,  the  results  given  in  the  following  pages  appear  to  show, 
contrary  to  opinions  which  have  long  been  held,  that  there  is  no  obvious  relation 
between  the  chemical  composition  of  a  soil  as  determined  by  the  methods  of  analysis 
used  and  the  yield  of  crops,  but  that  the  chief  factor  determining  the  yield  is  the 
physical  condition  of  the  soil  under  suitable  climatic  conditions." 

Page  63.  "The  exhaustive  investigation  of  many  types  of  soil  by  very  accurate 
methods  of  analysis  under  many  conditions  of  cultivation  and  cropping,  in  areas 
yielding  large  crops  and  in  adjoining  areas  yielding  small  crops,  has  shown  that  there 
is  no  obvious  relation  between  the  amount  of  the  several  nutritive  ingredients  in  the 
soil  and  in  the  yield  of  crops." 

Page  64.  "It  appears  further  that  practically  all  soils  contain  sufficient  plant  food 
for  good  crop  yield;  that  this  supply  will  be  indefinitely  maintained,  and  that  the 
actual  yield  of  plants  adapted  to  the  soils  depends  mainly,  under  favorable  climatic 
conditions,  upon  the  cultural  methods,  a  conclusion  strictly  in  accord  with  the  expe- 
rience of  good  farm  practice  in  all  countries." 

The  bulletin  contains  extended  tables  showing  the  results  of  the  analytical  work, 
and  at  the  end  a  full  description  of  the  methods  employed  therein. 

The  above  four  paragraphs,  taken  respectively  from  the  beginning  and  the  latter 
part  of  the  bulletin,  summarize  the  conclusions  to  which,  as  it  states,  "the  Bureau 
of  Soils  has  been  forced." 

These  conclusions  are  certainly  startling,  to  say  the  least,  and  perhaps  not  the 
least  remarkable  is  the  concluding  one,  which  hardly  agrees  with  the  impressions 
left  upon  the  mind  of  most  of  those  who  have  made  themselves  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  agriculture  and  its  past  and  present  practice  in  the  most  advanced  civili- 
zations. 

Were  such  statements  to  emanate  from  a  private  laboratory  on  a  mere  personal 
responsibility  it  would  be  likely  to  be  passed  over  and  allowed  to  run  its  course; 
but  when  it  emanates  from  the  head  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils  in  the  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture,  and  is  expressly  and  persistently  given  as  the  opinion  of  that  Bureau, 
it  can  not  be  thus  passed  over  unchallenged. 

The  above  quotation  from  page  7  of  the  bulletin  practically  prejudges  or  begs  the 
main  question  at  issue.  To  anyone  outside  of  the  Bureau  the  cogency  of  this  state- 
ment is  far  from  apparent,  except  in  so  far  as  it  may  mean  what  has  long  been  known 
and  recognized  and  need  not  therefore  have  been  shown  anew  by  the  Bureau. 

If  we  examine  the  experimental  basis  upon  which  all  these  assertions  are  made, 
we  find  it  to  be  the  assumption  that  the  aqueous  soil  solution  is  the  exclusive  source 
through  which  plants  derive  their  food,  and  the  fact  assumed  to  be  demonstrated  by 
a  newly  devised  method  of  analysis  that  that  solution  is  practically  of  the  same 
composition  in  all  soils,  so  far  as  the  mainly  important  plant  food  ingredients  are 
concerned.     Throughout  the  bulletin  the  determinations  thus  made  are  considered 

«  See  also  Science,  18  (1903),  No.  467,  p.  755. 


118 

and  mentioned  as  constituting  an  "exhaustive  investigation  of  many  types  of  soils 
by  very  accurate  methods  of  analysis." 

It  is  not  the  intention  of  the  present  writer  to  question  the  accuracy  of  the  analyses, 
such  as  they  arc,  but  it  is  notorious  that  there  arc  a  great  many  methods  that  may, 
and  have  been,  used  for  the  chemical  analysis  of  soils,  each  susceptible  of  great 
analytical  accuracy,  but  in  many,  if  not  in  most  cases,  having  no  practical  bearing 
upon  the  agricultural  value  of  the  soils  analyzed.  The  method  of  ultimate  silicate 
analysis  is  one,  and  it  is  generally  conceded  that  the  results  so  obtained  have  but  a 
very  remote  bearing  upon  the  practical  value  of  a  soil.  The  method  of  extraction 
with  distilled  water  is  another;  it  is  the  opposite  extreme  and,  unlike  the  silicate 
analysis,  can  certainly  not  be  considered  "exhaustive." 

Now,  the  criterion  usually  applied  to  the  relevancy  of  soil  analyses  is  whether  they 
will  stand  the  test  of  agricultural  practice.  Judged  by  this  test,  both  the  ultimate 
analysis  and  that  by  distilled  water  are  equally  failures,  according  to  Whitney's  own 
testimony.  But  his  conclusion  is  that,  since  his  method  fails  as  a  criterion  of  rich 
and  poor  soils,  therefore  the  chemical  composition  of  soils  has  no  bearing  upon  crop 
production,  and  that  therefore  "the  chief  factor  determining  the  yield  is  the  physical 
condition  of  the  soil  under  suitable  climatic  conditions." 

To  this  assertion  "non  sequitur"  is  the  obvious  first  answer.  But,  before  discuss- 
ing it,  it  seems  proper  to  recall,  as  regards  the  personal  standpoint  of  the  present 
writer,  that  he  was  the  first  one  to  undertake  systematic  physical  soil  work  in  the 
United  States,  in  the  early  sixties,  and  has  steadily  pursued  it  ever  since,  as  his  pub- 
lications''' show.  He  has  always  held,  taught,  and  written  that  the  physical  soil 
conditions  are  the  first  thing  needful  to  be  considered  in  the  estimate  of  a  soil's  prac- 
tical value,  the  chemical  composition  second,  since  faults  in  the  latter  can  in  most  cases 
be  much  more  readily  remedied  than  faulty  physical  conditions.  But  that  chemical 
composition  is  the  chief  determining  factor  of  phytogeography  in  the  humid  region, 
and  inferentially  of  crop  production  within  the  same,  became  his  conviction  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  agricultural  survey  of  Mississippi,  and  hence  he  made  it  promi- 
nent in  his  work  in  that  State.  In  the  arid  region,  Avhere  moisture  is  the  dominant 
factor  and  soil  composition  much  less  varied,  soil  physics  has  received  his  chief  atten- 
tion. It  can  not,  therefore,  be  truthfully  said  that  the  writer  has  not  fully  recognized 
the  enormous  importance  of  physical  soil  conditions,  both  in  his  teachings  and  his 
publications. 

Eleven  years  ago  it  fell  to  his  lot  to  controvert  the  hypothesis  then  put  forth  by 
Whitney  to  the  effect  that  fertilizers  act,  not  by  conveying  nourishment  to  plants, 
but  by  modifying  the  physical  texture  of  the  soil.&  The  recent  enunciation  of  the 
Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  while  still  maintaining  the  preferential  claim  for  the 
physical  properties  of  the  soil,  at  least  admits  the  importance  of  the  functions  of  plant 
foods,  but  claims  that  fertilization  is  unnecessary  because  the  supply  will  be  "indefi- 
nitely maintained."  He  in  fact  takes  us  back  to  the  times  of  Jethro  Tull  and  the 
Louis  Weedon  system  of  culture,  which  also  presupposed  the  indefinite  duration 
of  productiveness,  but  signally  failed  to  realize  it  when  the  test  of  even  as  much  as 
twelve  years  came  to  be  applied.  How  can  Whitney  reconcile  this  predicted  indefi- 
nite productiveness  with  the  actual  facts  well  known  to  every  farmer,  good  and  bad, 
who  has  ever  taken  fresh  land  into  cultivation,  and  when  pricing  it  is  perfectly 
aware  that,  after  a  period  ranging  from  three  years  on  the  long-leaf  pine  lands  of 
Mississippi  to  thirty  or  more  years  in  the  black  prairies,  he  must  needs  resort  to  fer- 
tilization if  he  wants  a  paying  crop,  while  in  the  Yazoo  clay  lands  and  the  alluvial 
soil  of  the  Ilouma  country  hardly  a  diminution  of  production  has  occurred  even  yet? 
If,  indeed,  the  soil  solution  is  of  the  same  composition  in  all  these  lands,  then  the 
common-sense  conclusion  is,  obviously,  that  if  the  soil  solution  is  the  sole  vehicle  of 
plant  nourishment  it  must  be  supplied  more  quickly  and  continuously  in  the  "rich" 
than  in  the." poor"  soils.  Certainly,  considering  that  both  rich  and  poor  soils  are 
represented  in  the  entire  gamut  of  physical  texture,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  that 
such  changes  in  texture  as  would  be  Drought  about  by  poor  cultivation  should  not 
occur  in  both.  Yet  the  rich  soils — those  shown  by  the  despised  chemical  analysis 
with  strong  acids  to  contain  abundance  of  plant  food — continue  to  produce  abun- 
dantly, while  the  poor  lands  "give  out."  Hence,  admitting  for  argument's  sake 
that  the  soil  solutions  are  really  of  the  same  chemical  composition,  it  is  clearly  not 
the  physical  texture  alone,  or  chiefly,  that  can  account  for  these  differences. 

«  Proc.  Amer.  Assoc.  Adv.  Sci.,  1872, 1873;  Amer.  Jour.  Sci.,  1872, 1873, 1879;  Proc. 
Soc.  Prom.  Agr.  Sci.,  1882  to  L898;  Wollny's  Forsch.,  1879  to  1896;  Centbl.  Agr. 
Chem.,  L886;  Agr.  Sci.,  1892:  Jour.  Amer.  ('hem.  Soc.,  1894;  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau 
Bui.  3;  Ann.  Sci.  Agron.,  1892;  California  Station  Reports  and  Bulletins,  1877  to  1902. 

&Agr.  Sci.,  1892,  pp.  321,  566. 


119 

Whitney  states  in  this  connection  (see  p.  51)  that  I  have  "called  attention  to  an 
apparent  exception  to  his  rule  (that  production  is  sensibly  proportionate  to  the  water 
supply)  in  the  ease  of  heavy  adobe  (heavy  clay)  and  sandy  lauds  in  California  which 
'bear  equally  good  crops  of  wheat."  It  happens  that  this  "exception"  holds  good 
throughout  the  somewhat  extensive  arid  region  of  the  United  States;  and  my  expla- 
nation is  not  only,  or  mainly,  that  the  roots  go  deeper,  hut  that  in  the  arid  region 
soils  are,  as  a  rule,  quite  as  rich  in  plant  food  (again  by  chemical  analysis  of  the 
rejected  sort)  as  the  clay  soils.  Hence  the  abundant  and  lasting  production  of  the 
arid  sandy  lands  (even  drifting  sands)  when  irrigated. 

The  argument  that  even  the  rich  arid  soils  can  not  yield  more  than  the  maximum 
crops  in  the  humid  region  can  hardly  be  taken  seriously. 

It  is  a  striking  fact  that  in  the  entire  bulletin  only  a  single  full-soil  analysis  (i.  e., 
one  made  with  strong  acids)  is  quoted.  There  is  a  table  giving  the  results  of  deter- 
minations of  available  plant  food,  determined  by  the  official  method,  alongside  of 
the  distilled-water  extract,  and  it  is  apparent  that  the  two  differ  widely.  But  there 
is  no  definite  agreement  among  soil  chemists  as  to  the  "available"  determinations, 
whether  as  to  value  or  method;  the  matter  is  still  in  the  tentative  stage,  and  I  wholly 
dissent  from  the  "official  prescription."  The  table  in  question  proves  nothing.  But 
it  would  have  been  instructive,  so  long  as  Whitney  wishes  to  disprove  the  value  of 
soil  analysis  as  usually  made,  to  have  at  least  some  of  the  soil  classes  he  adduces  as 
proofs  analyzed  by  the  usual  methods,  if  only  in  order  to  show  that  these  soil  types — 
the  Cecil  clay,  the  Sassafras  loam,  Norfolk  sand,  etc. — are  really,  as  alleged  by  him, 
the  same  soils  over  the  area  assigned  to  them.  How  have  these  soils  been  identified 
in  the  mapping?  We  are  informed  (p.  8)  that  "the  classification  of  soils  in  the  sur- 
veys made  by  this  Bureau  is  based  mainly  on  physical  differences  apparent  to  a 
trained  observer."  It  it  apparent  from  the  annual  reports  that  the  mineralogical  and 
geological  data,  which  are  elsewhere  considered  as  essential  to  a  definite  characteri- 
zation of  a  soil,  and  which  certainly  are  to  be  counted  among  the  physical  charac- 
teristics, are  in  most  cases  wholly  ignored.  Instead,  we  have  local  names  by  the 
thousand,  conveying  no  meaning  whatever  to  those  not  acquainted  with  the  localities, 
since  nothing  but  a  scantily  interpreted  physiological  analysis  is  ordinarily  given. 
Even  when  the  mineral  composition  of  the  soil,  is  obvious,  these  meaningless  local 
names  are  retained  against  preexisting  local  or  descriptive  designations.  Thus,  we 
have,  e.  g.,  a  "Fresno  sand"  appearing  also  in  the  report  on  Orange  and  Monterey 
counties,  Cal.,  localities  hundreds  of  miles  apart.  To  the  uninitiated  only  the  phy- 
sical analysis  is  offered  as  a  mark  of  their  identity  by  the  trained  observer.  It  seems 
a  pity  that  that  training  should  not  have  extended  to  calling  that  material  a  granitic 
sand,  which  would  have  rendered  the  designation  intelligible  all  over  the  world,  at 
the  same  time  conveying  important  practical  information  in  view  of  the  well-known 
cultural  characteristics  and  value  of  granitic  soils.  It  is  given  out  that  these  studies 
will  be  made  later  in  the  laboratory.  But  it  may  be  seriously  questioned  whether  it 
would  not  be  better  to  cover  less  ground  more  thoroughly  and  be  content  with  less 
extended  and  less  hasty  mapping.  This  superficial  method  of  work  naturally  excites 
criticism,  not  only  at  home  but  also  abroad." 

Until  some  better  proof  of  identity  is  shown  we  can  not  accept  Whitney's  conclu- 
sions, based  on  the  similarity  of  the  soil  solution,  with  widely  varying  production  on 
"the  same  soil;"  and  his  entire  argument  suffers  seriously  from  the  absence  of  any 
convincing  proof  that  "rich"  soils  do  not  supply  plant  food,  even  in  aqueous  solu- 
tion, more  rapidly  than  does  "poor"  land. 

But  is  the  aqueous  solution  the  only  source  of  supply?  Whitney  rejects  in  toto  the 
idea  that  anything  but  the  carbonic  acid  secreted  by  the  roots  aids  the  solution  of 
plant  food;  but  his  method  of  analysis  practically  ignores  even  this  solvent,  the  use 
of  which  was  suggested  and  actually  carried  out  by  David  Dale  Owen,  and  tried  by 
myself  in  the  early  fifties.  I  found  it  unsatisfactory  and  abandoned  it;  but  it  would 
seem  to  have  been  incumbent  upon  Whitney  and  his  coworkers  to  introduce  this 
inevitable  agency  into  their  soil  extractions,  if  it  was  intended  to  represent  natural 
conditions. 

But  there  is  still  a  wide  difference  of  opinion  in  this  matter  of  the  acid-root  secre- 
tions, and  the  investigators  quoted  by  Whitney  have  by  no  means  settled  the  matter. 
Among  others,  Kossowitch,*  when  observing  the  fact  that  much  calcic  bicarbonate 
leached  from  his  vegetation  pots,  failed  to  establish  the  absence  of  organic  acids  from 
the  solution.  The  old  etching  experiments  have  not,  to  my  mind,  lost  their  force; 
and  in  my  experience  I  find  it  difficult  to  overcome  the  evidence  of  litmus  paper 
reproducing  a  faithful  image  of  citrus  roots  (in  the  soil)  filled  with  an  83-per-cent 

aCentbl.  Agr.  Chem.,  32  (1903),  p.' 143. 
6  Ann.  Sci.  Agron.,  2.  ser.,  1  (1903),  p.  220. 


120 

solution  of  citric  acid.<*  If  the  paper  can  take  up  the  acid  from  the  root  surface, 
surely  the  much  stronger  capillary  action  of  the  soil  can  do  so,  according  to  Came- 
ron's experiment  quoted  on  page  54  of  Bulletin  22. h  But  if  so,  Whitney's  entire 
argument  based  on  watery-soil  solutions  falls  to  the  ground. 

Not  the  least  remarkable  part  of  the  bulletin  is  that  in  which  Whitney  discusses 
the  use  and  action  of  fertilizers.  He  does  admit  that  "there  is  no  question  that  in 
certain  cases,  and  in  many  eases,  the  application  of  commercial  fertilizers  is  bene- 
ficial to  the  crop."  But  he  calmly  brushes  aside  as  so  many  cobwebs  the  enormously 
cumulative  evidence  of  all  the  practical  experience  of  three-quarters  of  a  century  in 
the  use  of  commercial  fertilizers,  as  well  as  the  carefully  guarded  culture  experiments 
made  during  that  time  by  numerous  scientific  workers,  and  announces  the  truism 
that  climatic  and  seasonal  conditions  may  neutralize  the  beneficial  effects  of  any  and 
all  fertilizers  used.  This  has  been  often  said,  experienced,  and  foreseen.  Everyone 
knows  that  deficiency  of  moisture  or  heat,  or  imperfect  cultivation,  as  well  as  the 
improper  manner  of  application  of  fertilizers,  will  render  them  wholly  ineffective. 
We  have  also  long  known  that  soluble  fertilizers  soon  become  insoluble  ( but  not 
necessarily  unavailable)  in  the  soil,  in  a  manner  fairly  well  understood,  and  that 
hence  they  can  not  long  influence  the  w7atery-soil  solution  to  which  Whitney  pins 
his  faith.  But  since  the  same  conditions  influence  the  unfertilized  soils  to  even  a 
greater  degree,  manifestly  because  of  the  slower  and  less  vigorous  development  of  the 
plants,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  what  special  corroboration  Whitney's  hypothesis  can 
derive  therefrom.  He  calmly  discards,  as  having  been  made  under  "abnormal  con- 
ditions," the  elaborate  and  conclusive  experiments  made  by  the  best  observers  in 
pot  culture,  in  which  the  physical  factors  were  so  controlled  as  to  eliminate  them 
from  the  problem  of  the  action  of  special  fertilizers,  and  we  are  told  that  "very  little 
effect  is  obtained  in  field  culture  in  attempts  to  increase  the  value  of  crops  showing 
inferior  growth  by  the  application  of  fertilizers."  Atrip  through  the  malodorous 
turnip  fields  of  the  low  countries  of  Switzerland  in  autumn  would  convince  even  the 
Bureau  that  the  thrifty  inhabitants  know  that  when  fertilizer  is  made  to  reach  the 
feeding  roots  its  action  is  invariably  most  strikingly  beneficial.  That  a  top-dressing 
of  soluble  fertilizers  on  a  growing  crop  can  do  but  little  good  needs  no  discussion; 
and  it  is  but  too  true  that  a  great  deal  of  the  fertilizers  used  in  the  arid  region  remains 
wholly  ineffective  for  a  long  time  because  of  the  deep  range  of  the  feeding  roots  and 
the  shallow  application  of  insoluble  fertilizers. 

In  the  classic  water-culture  experiments  of  Birner  and  Lucanus,  quoted  in  the  bul- 
letin (p.  15),  the  well  water  was  supplied  continuously  and  in  different  amounts.  It 
is  thus  no  wonder  that  the  results  were  so  good,  for  at  no  time  was  there  a  lack  of 
food  supply,  nor  would  such  changes  as  would  injuriously  affect  the  growth  occur. 
But  for  these  frequent  renewals  of  water  the  result  would  doubtless  have  been  very 
different,  if  only  as  a  consequence  of  changes  in  the  reaction  of  the  solution.  It  is 
singular  that  this  important  point  is  not  even  casually  mentioned  in  the  bulletin  with 
respect  to  the  soil  solutions.  The  deleterious  effect  of  the  soil  acidity  upon  most  cul- 
ture plants,  long  known  in  general,  has  been  wTell  and  thoroughly  investigated  by 
H.  J.  Wheeler.  Yet  neither  in  the  tables  nor  in  the  text  of  this  bulletin  do  we  find 
any  evidence  that  this  point  has  had  any  attention  with  respect  to  its  possible  bear- 
ings on  the  differences  in  production  on  what  are  held  by  the  Bureau  to  be  identical 
soil  areas.  We  are  not  informed  whether  the  large  amounts  of  lime  present  in  some 
of  these  solutions  were  sulphate  or  carbonate;  yet  the  importance  of  this  difference 
is  enormous,  as  is  well  shown  by  the  contrasts  between  the  natural  vegetation  as  well 
as  the  cultural  value  of  gypseous  as  against  limestone  lands,  which  are  everywhere 
among  the  most  productive.  An  excellent  illustration  of  what  this  omission  may 
mean  exists  on  the  Gulf  coast  of  Mississippi,  where  (as  I  have  shown  in  the  Report 
on  Cotton  Culture,  Tenth  Census,  vol.  5,  p.  69)  the  soil  of  the  infertile  "sand  ham- 
mocks" differs  from  the  highly  and  lastingly  productive  soil  of  the  "shell  hammocks" 
almost  alone  in  the  proportion  of  lime  (calcic  and  carbonate)  and  phosphoric  acid 
present,  and  in  having  an  acid  reaction;  the  percentages  of  plant  food  being  very  low 
in  both  and  both  equally  of  great  depth.  This  observation,  together  with  others, 
led  me  very  early  (I860)  to  the  conclusion  that  mere  percentages  of  plant  food  were 
not  in  all  cases  proper  criteria  of  soil  fertility,  and  also  to  the  enunciation  of  the  state- 
's California  Sta.  Rpt.  1896-97,  p.  181. 

&"When  a  porous  cell,  having  deposited  in  it  a  semipermeable  membrane  through 
which  water  can  pass  freely,  but  through  which  salts  and  certain  organic  substances 
like  sugar  can  not  pass  readily,  is  buried  in  a  soil  short  of  saturation,  but  yet  in  fair 
condition  for  plant  growth,  the  soil  will  draw  water  from  the  cell  against  a  calculated 
osmotic  pressure  in  the  cell  of  thirty-six  atmospheres,  or  about  500  pounds  per  square 
inch." 


121 

ment  which  I  have  repeated  many  times  both  in  my  teaching  and  in  my  publication, 

to  wit: 

"While  all  soils  of  high  plant-food  percentages  are  highly  productive  under  all  but 
very  extreme  physical  conditions,  the  reverse  is  by  no  means  true,  since  soils  with 
low  percentages  may  he  highly  productive  if  the  relative  proportions  of  the  several 
ingredients  he  good  and  the  soil  mass  deep." 

I  have  for  some  years  carried  on  an  investigation  to  determine  the  limits  of  dilution 
within  which  plants  will  do  equally  well  in  soils  of  high  fertility  (and  plant  food  per- 
centages) when  these  are  diluted  with  quartz  sand.  While  not  yet  completed,  this 
investigation  lias  already  shown  that  a  rich  adobe  (clay)  soil,  and  an  equally  rich 
sandy  soil,  diluted  to  an  extent  of  four  to  one,  show  equally  good  growth,  hut  that 
when  in  these  soils  the  dilution  reaches  five  to  one  development  is  quite  slow  and  in 
a  short  season  would  mean  a  crop  failure.  The  moisture  content  was  in  all  these 
eases  maintained  at  two-thirds  the  maximum  water  capacity  of  each  diluted  soil. 
Photographs  show  clearly  that  here  the  roots  made  up  by  their  extension  for  the 
lack  of  concentration  of  the  food  supply;  but  at  the  dilution  of  one  to  five  they  were 
unable  to  make  up  the  deficiency,  at  least  within  a  reasonable  time.  Other  things 
being  equal,  it  is  the  proportion,  then,  between  the  several  soil  ingredients,  quite  as 
much  as  the  absolute  quantity  at  hand,  that  determines  production.  Incidentally, 
this  experiment  shows  the  wide  variation  of  physical  composition  (from  a  soil  con- 
taining 35  per  cent  of  colloidal  clay  to  one  with  only  8.75  per  cent,  and  in  the  sandy 
soil  from  7.6  per  cent  to  1.9  per  cent)  within  which  plants  will  do  equally  well,  pro- 
vided the  plant-food  ingredients  are  rightly  proportioned;  and  provided,  also,  that 
a  proportionally  large  soil  mass  is  available  to  each  plant. 

In  the  foregoing  discussion  only  the  salient  points  of  the  bulletin  in  question  have 
been  taken  up  and  their  most  obvious  weaknesses  briefly  considered.  To  do  more 
would  involve  the  writing  of  a  paper  as  long  as  the  bulletin  itself;  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  matter  will  be  taken  up  by  others  also.  Thus,  for  instance,  the 
Rothamsted  station  might  have  something  to  say  regarding  the  singular  interpreta- 
tion put  upon  the  splendid  work  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert. 

In  conclusion,  it  seems  to  the  writer  that  the  verdict  upon  the  main  theses  put 
forward  so  confidently  in  this  paper  must  be  an  emphatic  "Not  proven!" 

R  H.  Forbes,  of  Arizona,  read  the  following  paper: 

Utility  of  Soil  Surveys  in  the  West. 

Soil  survey  as  applied  to  western  conditions  naturally  falls  under  two  heads — (1) 
the  classification,  area  determination,  and  mapping  of  the  different  mechanical 
grades  of  soils  in  a  certain  district,  ranging  from  the  finer  and  heavier  soils  through 
the  most  distinctive  intermediate  grades  to  the  sandiest  and  lightest  ones;  and  (2)  the 
determination  and  portrayal  of  the  water-soluble  content  of  those  soils,  or,  as  it  is 
commonly  known,  the  alkali. 

With  the  first  form  of  soil  survey  you  are  familiar  here  in  the  East,  notably  in  con- 
nection with  the  extension  of  tobacco  culture  and  truck  gardening,  but  excessive 
accumulations  of  soluble  salts,  in  part  plant  foods  which,  through  very  excess,  have 
become  plant  poisons,  the  lurking  underground  enemy  of  the  farmer,  the  migratory 
and  ubiquitous  alkali,  are  to  most  men  in  this  assemblage  probably  (and  fortunately) 
a  rare  curiosity. 

I  can  most  quickly  bring  the  value  of  soil  and  alkali  survey  work  to  a  pioneering 
people  before  you  by  means  of  illustrations  drawn  from  our  own  experience  in  the 
far  Southwest  with  the  results  of  this  work. 

It  was  our  good  fortune  some  four  years  ago  to  be  associated  with  the  Bureau  of 
Soils  in  a  cooperative  soil  and  alkali  survey  of  Salt  Kiver  Valley.  Our  elder  brothers 
in  this  undertaking  finished  the  wTork  in  due  form,  and  it  was  finally  placed  before 
our  people,  affording  them  definite  and  extensive  information  regarding  the  land  of 
their  very  recent  adoption.  It  is  safe  to  say  that,  since  the  publication  of  the  maps 
depicting  the  location  and  nature  of  the  different  soil  areas,  a  very  large  share  of  the 
real  estate  business  of  this  district,  especially  of  the  new,  unfarmed  lands,  has  been 
guided  by  the  information  thus  afforded;  and  they  have  often  protected  the  pur- 
chaser and  curbed  the  fervent  imagination  of  the  real-estate  man.  But  the  most 
interesting  instance  of  the  usefulness  of  this  branch  of  the  work  just  recently  occurs 
in  connection  with  the  establishment  of  a  great,  new  industry  in  that  locality.  I 
refer  to  the  beet-sugar  factory  resulting  jointly  from  the  experimental  work  carried 
on  for  six  years  past  by  the  Arizona  Station  and  the  business  enterprise  of  some  of 
our  moving  men. 

The  results  of  cultural  work  indicated  very  clearly  those  types  of  soil  which,  under 
our  climatic  conditions,  could  produce  satisfactory  quality  and  tonnage  of  beets.  This 
information,  in  connection  with  the  soil  maps  of  the  survey,  made  it  immediately 


122 

possible  to  locate  the  new  factory  accurately  with  reference  to  the  most  suitable 
lands  whose  products  shall  in  future  support  its  operations.  The  farmer,  also,  as 
well  as  the  factory,  is  protected  in  this  instanee,  and  he  is  spared  the  useless  effort 
to  grow  scanty  tonnages  on  too  sandy  and  unsuitable  areas,  despite  the  blandish^ 
ments  of  the  beet-contract  man,  who  for  a  bonus  of  so  much  an  acre  would  willingly 
lure  the  farmer  into  disappointing  toil. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  in  this  instance,  that  the  results  of  this  pioneering  soil 
survey,  preceding  rather  than  following  the  inception  of  much  of  our  agricultural 
industry,  exert  a  strong,  safe,  guiding  influence  upon  our  development.  With  us  it 
need  not  be  "cut  and  dry,  and  dry  again,"  but  choose  reasonably  that  location 
where  soil  conditions  justify  the  expectation  of  certain  results. 

But  of  still  greater  value  is  the  alkali  survey  of  a  new  district  such  as  ours,  either 
as  a  forerunner  of  the  settler  or  for  the  interpretation  of  constantly  arising  conditions. 

The  soil  is  comparatively  an  open  book  in  which  any  man  with  a  spade  may  read 
as  deeply  as  he  needs.  The  alkali  is  a  treacherous,  concealed  enemy  whose  ambus- 
cade for  untold  centuries  has  been  patiently  awaiting  a  victim.  Scattered  through  the 
surface  10  feet  of  virgin  soil,  the  farmer  has  no  means  of  estimating  its  amount  or 
calculating  its  force  when  irrigation  shall  have  concentrated  it  in  the  top  soil.  Locali- 
ties, therefore,  which  on  close  inspection  seemed  free  from  this  dreaded  contingency 
are  often  laid  waste  by  the  slow  and  relentless  "rise  of  the  alkali." 

In  the  West,  therefore,  where  development  is  rapid,  where  the  territory  is  vast, 
where  the  conditions  are  new  to  the  incoming  settlers,  where  the  emergencies  are 
unexpected  and  severe,  and  the  demands  upon  the  time  of  station  men  are  frequent 
and  urgent,  the  possession  of  rapid  field  methods  for  alkali  determination,  even 
though  not  of  refined  accuracy,  is  of  inestimable  value.  Such  methods  are  those 
developed  for  field  use  by  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  especially  the  electrolytic  bridge  for 
determination  of  total  soluble  salts. 

Let  me  illustrate  the  usefulness  of  the  latter  by  a  recent  instance:  Probably  the 
finest  deciduous  orchard  in  the  Southwest  changed  hands  about  a  year  ago,  the  pur- 
chaser being  an  eastern  man  but  little  familiar  with  southwestern  agriculture.  The 
trees,  mainly  in  good  condition  until  recently,  suffered  considerably  during  the 
severe  conditions  of  the  past  season  from  an  unknown  cause.  The  station  was  called 
upon  to  determine  the  difficulty,  if  possible,  in  time  to  avert  threatened  disaster.  The 
first  examination  revealed  none  of  the  ordinary  diseases  of  deciduous  fruit  trees  in 
our  region.  Crown  gall  was  absent.  The  Bryobia  mite  and  the  red  spider  were 
guiltless.  Sunburn  could  not  consistently  explain  the  appearance  of  the  trees. 
Alkali  was  not  suspected  by  the  owner,  the  district  being  reputed  free  therefrom 
and  accumulations  of  salts  not  being  even  then  conspicuous.  The  appearance  and 
lingering  manner  of  death  of  the  trees,  however,  indicated  that  as  a  possible  cause; 
so,  another  day,  armed  with  a  bridge,  a  table  for  temperature  corrections,  an  alkali 
curve  for  that  region,  an  auger,  and  a  pair  of  overalls,  we  began  a  series  of  borings 
in  the  most  thrifty  and  least  thrifty  parts  of  the  orchard.  To  be  brief,  the  day's 
work,  in  part  calculated  upon  the  ground,  proved  the  association  of  the  largest  per- 
centages of  soluble  salts  with  the  greatest  loss  of  trees.  For  instance,  in  an  unflooded 
tree  row,  where  many  trees  were  dying,  there  was  found  in  the  first  foot  of  soil  0.09 
per  cent  soluble  salt,  in  the  second  foot  of  soil  0.06  per  cent  soluble  salt,  in  the  third 
foot  of  soil  0.07  per  cent  soluble  salt,  in  the  fourth  foot  of  soil  0.07  per  cent  soluble 
salt,  in  the  fifth  foot  of  soil  0.10  per  cent  soluble  salt. 

In  an  unirrigated  middle  near  by  was  found  in  the  first  foot  of  soil  0.11  per  cent 
soluble  salt,  in  the  second  foot  of  soil  0.13  per  cent  soluble  salt,  in  the  third  foot  of 
soil  0.09  percent  soluble  salt,  in  the  fourth  foot  of  soil  0.10  per  cent  soluble  salt. 

In  another  part  of  the  orchard,  where  the  trees  were  in  good  condition,  a  tree  row 
gave  in  the  first  foot  of  soil  0.05  per  cent  soluble  salt,  in  the  second  foot  of  soil  0.06 
per  cent  soluble  salt,  in  the  third  foot  of  soil  0.06  per  cent  soluble  salt;  and  in  an 
adjacent  middle  was  found  in  the  first  foot  of  soil  0.02  per  cent  soluble  salt,  in  the 
second  foot  of  soil  0.02  per  cent  soluble  salt,  in  the  third  foot  of  soil  0.02  per  cent 
soluble  salt,  in  the  fourth  foot  of  soil  0.04  per  cent  soluble  salt,  quantities  ranging  from 
a  half  to  a  fourth  of  those  found  where  trees  were  dying. 

It  was  possible  at  the  same  time  to  determine  approximately  the  effectiveness  of 
flooding  as  a  remedy  for  the  existing  condition.  At  a  point  near  the  alkaline  tree 
row  just  mentioned,  where  the  ground  had  been  flooded  three  times  during  the 
summer,  the  first  foot  contained  0.03  per  cent  soluble  salt,  the  second  foot  contained 
0.03  per  cent  soluble  salt,  the  third  foot  contained  0.04  per  cent  soluble  salt,  or  about 
one-third  the  salt  content  of  the  adjacent  unirrigated  tree  row.  This  circumstance 
indicated  the  readily  drainable  character  of  this  soil  and  led  to  the  recommendation, 
after  the  verification  of  these  figures  by  repeated  borings,  of  the  method  of  throwing 
up  embankments  on  either  side  of  the  tree  rows  and  using  the  limited  supply  of 
irrigating  water  available  for  flooding  the  space   between.     This  method   is  used 


123 

(rule  of  thumb)  by  the  peon  farmers  of  Mexico  for  the  irrigation  of  oranges  with 
alkaline  water,  and  has  proved  successful  in  the  orange  orchards  of  Rait  River  Val- 
ley also. 

In  brief,  it  was  possible  in  one  working  day,  by  means  of  an  expeditious  method, 
to  determine  and  locate  with  sufficient  accuracy  the  danger  to  a  valuable  property, 
and  make  proper  recommendations  for  its  management. 

Field  determinations  of  this  sort  also  are  additionally  valuable  from  the  fact  thai 
the  bridge  readings,  having  comparative  value  among  themselves,  instantly  indicate 
the  trend  of  the  results  obtained.  The  location  Of  borings  during  the  progress  of 
the  work  may  be  therefore  made  to  the  best  advantage  and  dead  work  avoided. 
The  owner  also, quickly  learning  the  significance  of  the  readings,  participated  intelli- 
gently in  the  work  and  derived  additional  value  from  the  fact. 

The  appearance  of  alkali  in  this  instance  could  not  ordinarily  have  been  foretold 
by  a  survey  of  the  virgin  ground.  Originally,  that  soil  did  not  contain  excessive 
salts;  but  the  succession  of  abnormally  hot,  dry  summers  of  the  past  lew  years  so 
concentrated  our  irrigating  water  supply  that  its  brackish  qualities  gradually  made 
themselves  evident  in  the  increasing  alkalinity  of  the  soil. 

To  conclude,  therefore,  let  me  emphasize  the  utility  of  the  pioneer  soil  survey  to 
the  newer  portions  of  our  country,  and  the  great  value  of  expeditious  methods  whereby 
the  maximum  of  work  may  be  accomplished  in  the  scanty  time  of  many  of  our  station 
workers.  In  the  older  portions  of  the  country  a  soil  survey  largely  states  facts  which 
are  already  generally  known  through  long  tillage,  but  in  the  West  it  offers  guidance 
to  the  settling  stranger  in  his  choice  of  location  where  he  shall  make  his  great  effort 
for  a  home. 

For  further  discussion  of  the  subject  of  soil  fertility,  see  page  127. 

Uniform  Fertilizer  and  Feeding-Stuffs  Laws. 

The  report  on  this  subject  has  already  been  given  in  full  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
general  session,  with  the  amended  recommendations  adopted  by  the  section  (p.  31). 

The  recommendations  were  the  subject  of  considerable  discussion,  especially  that 
referring  to  the  method  of  defraying  the  expenses  of  inspection,  which  was  as  fol- 
lows: That  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  expenses  of  feeding-stuffs  inspections, 
the  State  should  make  a  direct  appropriation,  or  where  this  is  impracticable,  a  brand 
tax  should  be  levied.  In  view  of  the  experience  of  Maine  and  Vermont,  a  tonnage 
tax  is  not  to  be  recommended. 

It  was  explained  by  B.  W.  Kilgore,  of  North  Carolina,  and  others  that  in  many 
Southern  States  the  tonnage  tax  was  practically  the  only  available  means  of  provid- 
ing for  the  expenses  of  inspection;  that  the  system  had  worked  well  in  connection 
with  fertilizer  inspection,  and  promised  to  be  equally  satisfactory  in  feeding-stuffs 
inspection  where  it  had  been  tried. 

A  motion  to  strike  out  the  section,  however,  was  not  agreed  to. 

The  other  recommendations  were  then  considered  in  detail  with  the  results  already 
stated  (p.  84).. 

C.  G.  Hopkins  (having  temporarily  called  another  member  of  the  section  to  the 
chair)  offered  and  moved  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  on  uniform  fertilizer  laws  be  asked  to  include  in 
their  report  a  recommendation  that  in  the  statement  of  the  analysis  either  the 
name  of  the  compound,  as  ammonia,  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  etc.,  or  the  name  of 
the  element,  as  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  potassium,  be  required;  that  the  other  be  also 
allowed;  and  that  the  name  of  the  element  be  given  preference  so  far  as  practicable. 

In  support  of  the  resolution,  Professor  Hopkins  read  the  following  paper: 

Shall  We  Say  Nitrogen   or  "Ammonia,"   Phosphorus  or  "Phosphoric  Acid," 

Potassium  or  "Potash"? 

Nitrogen  is  sometimes  sold  under  the  name  of  "ammonia,"  phosphorus  commonly 
under  the  name  of  "phosphoric  acid,"  and  potassium  under  the  name  of  "potash." 
To  the  farmer,  who  really  wishes  and  tries  to  understand  the  subject  of  plant  food, 
these  names  are  very  confusing.  Indeed,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  anyone  but  a 
chemist  to  understand  how  these  elements  of  plant  food  can  be  bought  and  sold 
under  such  names. 


124 

Lot  ns  consider,  for  example,  the  material  sodium  nitrate.  This  contains  the  three 
elements,  sodium,  nitrogen,  and  oxygen,  as  the  name  indicates.  It  is  valued  only 
for  the  nitrogen  it  contains,  which  amounts  to  nearly  IB  per  cent  in  a  good  com- 
mercial grade  of  sodium  nitrate.  This  is  all  simple  enough.  If  sodium  nitrate 
contains  JO  per  cent  of  nitrogen  this  would  he  320  pounds  of  nitrogen  in  a  ton  of  the 
material,  and,  at  L5  cents  a  pound  for  nitrogen,  a  ton  of  sodium  nitrate  would  he 
worth  about  $48.  It  is  both  absurd  and  unnecessarily  complicated  to  sell  sodium 
nitrate  on  the  basis  of  "ammonia":  First,  because  it  contains  no  "ammonia"; 
second,  because  "ammonia"  is  not  what  the  plant  needs;  and,  third,  because  it  is  not 
"ammonia"  that  we  should  wish  to  buy  even  if  we  needed  to  purchase  nitrogen. 

"Ammonia"  is  a  compound  of  nitrogen  and  hydrogen,  but  no  hydrogen  is  con- 
tained in  sodium  nitrate,  and  we  have  no  need  to  purchase  hydrogen,  as  water 
contains  ahundance  of  that  element, 

Let  us  consider  steamed  hone  meal.  This  is  valued  for  its  phosphorus  content,  hut 
it  is  commonly  sold  on  the  basis  of  "phosphoric  acid."  This  is  perhaps  more  con- 
fusing and  more  absurd  than  "ammonia."  Phosphoric  acid  is  not  contained  in 
bone  meal,  and  phosphoric  acid  is  not  suitable  for  plant  food,  and  people  do  not  mean 
phosphoric  acid  when  they  say  "phosphoric  acid"  in  connection  with  fertilizers. 
What  they  do  mean  is  phosphoric  oxid,  a  compound  of  phosphorus  and  oxygen, 
containing  less  than  44  per  cent  of  the  element  phosphorus,  the  real  thing  which  we 
wish  to  purchase.  Phosphoric  acid  is  a  compound  of  phosphorus,  oxygen,  and 
hydrogen,  the  last  two  elements  being  contained  in  water.  Why  all  this  unnecessary 
complication?  Good  steamed  bone  meal  contains  about  12£  per  cent  of  phosphorus, 
or  250  pounds  of  phosphorus  in  a  ton.  This  is  a  valuable  element  of  plant  food.  At 
10  cents  a  pound  for  phosphorus,  the  steamed  hone  meal  would  he  worth  about  $25  a 
ton.  This  is  all  simple  and  plain  enough  so  that  any  one  can  easily  and  fully  under- 
stand it,  the  farmer  as  well  as  the  fertilizer  dealer  or  manufacturer. 

Again,  let  us  consider  such  a  material  as  potassium  chlorid,  a  compound  of  the  two 
elements  potassium  and  chlorin,  containing  in  the  common  market  grade  about  42 
per  cent  of  the  element  potassium.  This  compound  is  commonly  sold  under  the 
incorrect  and  confusing  name  of  "  muriate  of  potash,"  and  it  is  sold  on  the  basis  of 
"potash."  The  term  "muriate,"  ending  in  ate,  would  indicate  that  this  material 
contains  oxygen,  but  this  is  not  true,  as  it  contains  only  potassium  and  chlorin, 
although  there  is  no  indication  of  chlorin  in  the  name  "muriate  of  potash."  "  Pot- 
ash" is  a  compound  of  potassium  and  oxygen,  containing  83  per  cent  of  the  element 
potassium;  but,  as  stated  above,  there  is  no  oxygen  in  potassium  chlorid,  and  conse- 
quently there  is  no  "potash"  in  potassium  chlorid.  Furthermore,  "  potash,"  which 
is  potassium  oxid,  contains  the  element  oxygen,  which  nobody  cares  to  consider  in 
the  purchase,  as  the  air  is  one-fifth  oxygen  and  water  is  eight-ninths  oxygen. 

Potassium  is  a  valuable  element  of  plant  food.'  Ordinary  potassium  chlorid  con- 
tains about  42  per  cent  of  that  element,  or  about  840  pounds  in  a  ton  of  material, 
which  at  6  cents  a  pound  for  potassium  would  be  worth  $50.40  a  ton.  This,  again, 
is  direct  and  simple,  and  all  that  is  necessary  to  fully  understand  the  purchase  of 
this  element. 

Of  course  we  can  say  "potash"  and  explain  what  we  mean  by  it.  For  example, 
if  potassium  chlorid  contains  42  per  cent  of  potassium  it  contains  sufficient  potas- 
sium to  make  about  50  per  cent  of  "potash,"  if  the  potassium  were  made  to  unite 
with  oxygen  to  form  "potash;"  but  as  the  "potash"  which  might  thus  be  formed 
would  contain  oxygen,  its  value  per  pound  would  be  less  than  that  of  potassium,  the 
value  of  "potash"  depending  entirely  upon  the  amount  of  potassium  it  would  con- 
tain. By  remembering  that  "potash"  would  contain  only  about  83  per  cent  of 
potassium  it  will  he  seen  that,  with  potassium  at  6  cents  a  pound,  potash  would  he 
worth  only  about  5  cents  a  pound,  and  consequently  that  a  ton  of  potassium  chlorid 
(or  shall  we  say  "muriate  of  potash"?)  containing  sufficient  potassium  to  make  50 
per  cent  of  "potash"  would  contain  in  one  ton  enough  potassium  to  make  1,000 
pounds  of  "potash,"  which  at  5  cents  a  pound  for  potash  would  make  $50  a  ton  for 
potassium  chlorid,  or,  if  we  were  to  make  all  the  computations  with  absolute  accu- 
racy, it  would  come  out  $50.40,  as  given  above  for  potassium. 

I  once  spent  nearly  two  hours'  time  with  a  very  progressive  and  intelligent  Illinois 
farmer  who  desired  me  to  explain  exactly  what  "muriate  of  potash"  is,  and  what  the 
analysis  showing  50  percent  of  "  potash"  means.  After  nearly  two  hours'  work,  he 
actually  gave  the  problem  up,  saying  that  he  could  not  understand  it.  As  a  chemist, 
I  can  understand  it,  but  I  can  not  understand  why  scientific  men,  working  in  the 
interest  of  agriculture,  should  encourage  the  continuation  of  such  an  outrageous 
system  for  reporting  the  analysis  of  fertilizers  or  plant-food  materials. 

About  the  only  reason  which  is  ever  given  for  using  the  terms  "ammonia,"  "phos- 
phoric acid,"  and  "potash"  is  that  they  do  so  in  the  older  States;  although  there  are 
some  people  who  say  that  the  farmers  don't  need  to  understand  the  matter. 


125 

It  may  be  that  there  would  be  some  difficulty  in  the  older  States  in  changing  from 
these  long-used,  though  misused,  names  to  the  names  of  the  elements,  but  it  would 
be  no  more  difficult  than  to  change  from  the  older  money  systems  to  the  decimal 

systems,  as  has  been  done  by  almost  every  civilized  nation  excepting  England,  or  to 
change  from  the  old  cumbersome  systems  of  weights  and  measures  to  the  simpler 

metric  system,  as  has  been  done  by  nearly  all  countries  excepting  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain. 

Certainly  we  have  no  right  to  force  these  old,  incorrect,  and  meaningless  names 
upon  the  progressive  farmers  of  the  great  central  West. 

They  desire  to  understand  both  the  practice  and  science  of  agriculture.  It  is  only 
in  agriculture  that  these  absurd  names  are  used.  In  the  steel  and  iron  industry,  when 
they  have  anything  to  say  about  phosphorus,  they  say  phosphorus;  in  pharmacy  and 
medicine,  when  they  say  phosphoric  acid  they  mean  phosphoric  acid. 

In  the  latest  publication  from  the  U.  S.  1  department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Soils 
(Bulletin  No.  22,  "The  chemistry  of  the  soil  as  related  to  crop  production"),  all 
analyses  reported  show  the  amount  of  the  element  potassium  and  not  potash. 

Already  several  of  the  States  have  passed  laws  compelling  the  use  of  nitrogen  in 
place  of  "ammonia"  in  fertilizer  analyses,  and  the  Illinois  legislature,  upon  request 
of  the  Illinois  State  Farmers'  Institute,  has  passed  a  law  requiring  that  all  fertilizers 
sold  in  the  State  shall  bear  a  statement  of  the  analysis  which  shall  show  the  exact 
percentages  of  the  three  elements,  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  and  potassium  contained 
in  the  fertilizer  sold. 

The  Illinois  fertilizer  manufacturers  supported  the  bill  for  this  law,  making  the 
purchase  and  use  of  plant  food  more  readily  intelligible  to  the  farmer;  and  it  is  not 
too  much  to  hope  that  other  States  will  join  in  reducing  the  purchase  and  sale  of 
fertilizers  and  the  use  of  plant  food  to  the  simplest  possible  basis. 

The  matter  was  referred  to  the  section  for  consideration  at  the  next  convention. 

The  third  meeting  of  the  section  was  called  to  order  at  2  o'clock  p.  m.  Thursday, 
Xovember  19,  by  the  chairman,  C.  G.  Hopkins,  of  Illinois,  in  the  banquet  hall  of 
the  Shoreham  Hotel. 

L.  G.  Carpenter,  of  Colorado,  read  the  following  paper: 

Artificial  Irrigation  in  Humid  and  Semiarid  Districts. 

In  an  arid  country  irrigation  is  a  primal  necessity,  while  in  a  humid  country  it  is 
an  adjunct  to  agriculture  and  may  be  dispensed  with.  The  attitude  of  the  two 
regions  toward  the  practice  is  therefore  fundamentally  different.  In  the  one  case 
every  other  consideration  for  its  practice  must  yield  to  the  necessity.  Water  is 
applied  because  it  is  water,  wet.  In  the  other  the  consideration  is  to  be  judged  by 
the  same  standard  as  any  other  practice,  viz,  Do  the  returns  justify  the  expense'.' 

An  answer  to  the  general  question  goes  farther  afield  than  the  time  or  the  occasion 
permits.  The  practice,  in  fact,  like  so  many  others,  may  be  profitable  and  desirable 
in  one  community,  unprofitable  and  therefore  undesirable  in  another,  advantageous 
on  one  farm  and  disadvantageous  on  its  neighbor.  There  are  besides  other  differ- 
ences between  the  East  and  the  West  which  need  to  be  taken  into  account  in  a 
consideration  of  the  question. 

An  answer  can  best  be  given  by  indirect  statement  and  recalling  some  of  the 
primary  considerations.  For  what  purpose  would  irrigation  be  applied?  We  may 
broadly  distinguish : 

(1)  As  a  matter  of  insurance.  As  against  disaster  from  droughts.  There  are  few 
places  where  droughts  are  not  disastrous  at  times.  The  expenditure  justified  for 
such  a  purpose  would  be  governed  by  the  same  considerations  as  determine  the 
amount  to  be  paid  for  any  other  insurance.  A  prudent  person  is  willing  to  pay  more 
than  his  actual  risk;  only  because  of  that  can  a  company  thrive.  Usually  the  more 
prudent  and  farseeing  the  man,  the  more  anxious  is  he  to  dispose  of  his  risk.  For 
the  same  reason  a  careful  man  can  afford  to  invest  more  than  the  risk  actually  is 
worth  to  insure  against  crop  failure.  The  justification  is  that  a  single  failure  may 
cripple  a  man  beyond  recovery. 

(2)  Connected  with  the  consideration  is  the  assurance  of  production  approaching 
the  maximum.  The  two  considerations  merge  into  each  other,  but  vary  essentially 
in  character.  The  one  contemplates  irrigation  as  an  emergency  and  in  occasional 
years;  the  other  as  an  ordinary  resource,  available  every  year;  no  year  when  crops 
do  not  suffer  from  lack  of  water  at  the  proper  time.  There  is.  of  course,  the  case  of 
excess  of  water  in  wet  years,  but  even  in  these  years  other  crops  suffer  at  some  other 
season  of  the  year  by  reason  of  a  deficit.  There  are,  to  be  sure,  failures,  partial  ov 
complete,  from  various  causes — plant  diseases,  insects,  poor  preparation  of  soil,  but 


126 

most  of  those  from  other  causes  can  be  met  by  ordinary  resources  of  science.  The 
most  common  source  of  loss,  and  the  greatest,  is  from  lack  of  moisture  at  the  proper 
time.  Such  loss,  when  it  occurs,  affects  more  the  profit  of  the  farmer.  A  certain 
yield  is  needed  to  pay  the  expense.  Above  that  the  yield  is  almost  clear  profit. 
Hence,  while  the  same  business  considerations  govern  the  relation  of  the  expendi- 
tures to  the  return,  yet  the  measure  of  the  value  of  irrigation  is  more  than  indicated 
by  the  excess  crop.  It  may  mean  not  only  a  profit,  but  prevent  a  failure  more  or 
less  complete  of  the  expenditures  and  effort  that  have  previously  been  made.  From 
a  business  standpoint  it  may  mean  the  success  of  the  effort  otherwise  made.  In  such 
cases  irrigation  may  well  command  an  artificial  value. 

Where  irrigation  is  thus  available  it  often  means  a  greater  freedom  of  choice  in  the 
selection  of  crops,  thus  a  power  to  change  according  to  the  demands  of  the  market; 
hence,  again,  a  greater  return  and  an  increase  in  the  value  of  the  land.  It  also  tends 
to  the  stability  of  agricultural  returns.  This  is  a  consideration  of  considerable 
importance  from  an  economic  standpoint,  for  as  the  risks  are  reduced  the  relation 
between  effort  and  return  becomes  more  certain,  a  distinct  heartening  is  given  to 
zeal  for  preparation,  and  a  corresponding  effect  on  the  character  and  stability  of  the 
people. 

The  above  conditions  apply  essentially  to  cultivated  or  hoed  crops  and  to  intensive 
agriculture,  and  in  their  broader  characteristics  apply  to  humid  as  well  as  arid 
regions.  The  methods  of  application  and  the  considerations  which  govern  are  much 
the  same  in  both  cases. 

A  third  cause  for  irrigation  applies  more  peculiarly  to  humid  or  cold  countries. 
In  a  dry  region,  or  where  grain  or  fruit  are  sought,  irrigation  must  be  practiced  with 
temperance,  and  in  such  cases,  irrigation  in  a  wet  country  is  of  the  nature  of  insur- 
ance. Where  leaf  or  stalk  or  foliage  development  are  sought,  the  conditions  are 
different.  Here  the  more  water  applied  the  greater  is  the  development.  This 
lends  itself  peculiarly  to  hay  or  grass  crops.  An  adage  common  to  mountainous 
countries  of  Europe  is,  the  more  water  the  more  grass. 

This  lends  itself  especially  to  grass  and  to  dairying  and  the  practice  of  soiling. 
Singularly  enough,  there  seems  to  be  almost  no  case  of  irrigation  with  moderate 
quantities  of  water — that  is,  intermediate  between  the  small  amounts  for  hoed  crops 
and  the  excessive  amounts  for  grass  crops  in  cold  and  wet  countries.  The  practice 
is  common  in  all  mountainous  regions  of  Europe — Sweden  and  Norway,  Austria  and 
Germany,  France  and  Switzerland.  Water  is  applied  profusely,  enough  to  cover 
the  land  several  hundred  feet  in  depth  in  the  course  of  a  year.  In  one  case  of  actual 
measurement  over  2,000  feet  were  applied  in  one  year.  Of  course,  this  is  an  extreme 
case  and  only  important  as  emphasizing  the  fact  that  there  is  a  place  for  irrigation 
under  the  most  humid  conditions.  In  the  valley  of  the  Po,  where  the  rainfall 
averages  about  36  inches,  something  like  3,000,000  acres  are  irrigated.  Most  of  the 
irrigation  is  for  grass.  Large  expenditures  are  made  for  preparing  the  land  for  this 
purpose.  The  same  methods  apply  to  the  mountainous  regions  of  this  country.  In 
such  cases,  irrigation  is  given,  not  so  much  to  supply  moisture;  it  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  application  of  an  exceedingly  weak  fertilizer.  There  are,  however, 
complex  relations  between  the  water  and  the  soil  and  between  the  water  and  the 
crops,  some  of  which  were  developed  by  Mangon  as  long  as  forty  years  ago,  but  need 
further  study  and  elucidation. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  methods  must  vary  according  to  the  purpose 
and  according  to  the  conditions.  As  the  conditions  infinitely  vary  the  details  are 
also  infinitely  varied. 

There  are  some  fundamental  differences  between  the  East  and  the  West.  In  the 
East,  however  necessary  or  beneficial,  it  would  seem  that  irrigation  must  be  essen- 
tially an  individual  enterprise.  This  is  aside  from  the  popular  reluctance  to  adopt  a 
new  practice,  but  the  laws  and  customs  have  grown  up  in  a  country  where  it  has  been 
necessary  to  take  away  rather  than  to  apply  water.  The  development  is  therefore 
hampered  by  the  common-law  doctrine  of  riparian  rights.  Development  must  take 
place  on  small  or  insignificant  streams,  or  through  other  than  gravity  sources,  where 
mill  or  navigation  lights  will  not  be  interfered  with.  These  conflicting  rights  may  be 
adjusted — as  they  have  been  in  France — but  this  adjustment  remains  for  the  future. 
The  doctrine  of  riparian  rights  will  prevent  large  enterprises,  except  in  exceptional 
circumstances.  At  present  in  the  humid  States  the  only  way  to  acquire  the  right 
is  to  break  the  law.  If  broken  long  enough,  a  right  may  become  vested  and  acquired 
by  prescription.  This  is,  of  course,  not  a  situation  to  encourage  large  investment, 
even  if  other  conditions  were  favorable. 

In  the  arid  States  it  is  recognized  that  a  diversion  of  water  is  a  necessity.  The 
essence  of  the  Kansas-Colorado  case  now  before  the  Supreme  Court  is  in  the  conflict 
of  these  two  conditions  or  ideas — one  where  water  must  remain  in  its  channel,  the 
other  that  water  may  be  diverted  and  beneficially  used.     The  one  is  proper  for  a  wet 


127 

country,  the  other  is  a  necessity  of  existence  in  an  arid  country;  and  yet  as  all  regions 
other  than  those  developing  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  civilization  have  felt  it  necessary 
to  recognize  the  diversion  of  water,  it  is  undoubtedly  the  case  that  such  will  be  the 
development  in  the  eastern  United  States  as  it  has  been  found  to  be  necessary  in  the 
western. 

Granting,  however,  that  aperson  is  satisfied  that  irrigation  is  worth  his  consideration, 
the  methods  both  of  obtaining  water  and  of  application  must  vary  with  the  situation  of 
the  land.  The  purpose  of  irrigation  is  not  to  be  lost  sight  of  as  is  often  done.  The  main 
purpose  is  to  keep  the  soil  with  just  the  proper  degreeof  moisture  for  hest  production. 
The  physical  problem  is  to  accomplish  this  in  the  best  manner  possible,  and  to  make 
a  uniform  distribution  of  water  over  the  tract  to  be  irrigated — quickly  or  copiously 
on  a  sandy  or  absorptive  soil  and  for  a  longer  time  on  a  clay  soil,  and  in  no  case  for 
a  time  long  enough  to  damage  the  crop.  Gentle  and  frequent  rains  are  the  most 
efficient  and  economical  distribution.  Irrigators  do  not  find  it  possible  to  distribute 
small  quantities  of  water  uniformly.  Hence,  irrigations  are  not  so  frequent  as  is 
desirable  and  are  more  copious  than  would  best  accomplish  the  purpose.  The  large 
quantities,  however,  are  a  consequence  of  the  difficulty  of  making  a  uniform  dis- 
tribution. This  can  be  improved  by  a  more  perfect  preparation  of  the  surface  of  the 
ground  and  becomes  a  matter  of  greater  consideration  in  the  East,  where  there  is 
greater  liability  of  excess.  If  the  surface  is  uneven  the  lower  spots  receive  too  much 
water  in  order  that  the  higher  ones  get  enough.  Hence,  effort  and  expense  need  to 
be  given  to  smoothing  the  tract  for  irrigation.  The  more  pains  taken  this  way  the 
more  satisfactory  will  be  the  results.  In  Italy  an  expense  of  several  hundred  dol- 
lars per  acre  is  incurred  for  preparing  the  ground  for  the  Marcite  or  water  meadows. 
The  basin  method  is  applicable  to  grades  of  10  feet  per  mile.  The  furrow  system  is 
best  applicable  to  slopes  of  about  20  feet  per  mile,  but  a  greater  slope  may  be 
used  by  running  the  rows  diagonally.  It  may  be  used  up  to  slopes  of  even  200  feet 
per  mile.  The  flooding  system  may  be  used  on  ground  on  any  slope  by  modifying 
the  distance  between  the  ditches  and  using  collection  ditches. 

A  gravity  system,  for  reasons  already  given,  is  practically  inapplicable  to  the 
greater  part  of  the  East.  It  requires  long  canals  and  costly  enterprises,  except  in  the 
case  of  streams  of  rapid  fall.  As  the  lands  justifying  the  expense  are  near  market 
centers,  the  last  condition  is  not  present  and  the  former  is  not  applicable.  Hence, 
for  market  gardens  the  question  in  many  cases  reduces  itself  to  pumping. 

C.  E.  Thorne,  of  Ohio,  read  the  following  paper: 

Methods  of  Conducting  Investigations  Relating  to  Maintenance  or  Increase 

of  Soil  Fertility. 

There  are  two  principal  lines  along  which  the  problem  of  fertility  maintenance 
must  be  attacked,  the  one  lying  through  the  laboratory,  the  other  through  the  field. 

While  the  chemist  can  not  yet  meet  the  popular  expectation  by  prescribing  a  spe- 
cial fertilizer  for  a  particular  soil  on  the  basis  of  a  chemical  analysis  of  that  soil,  yet 
he  has  been  and  will  ever  continue  to  be  an  indispensable  helper  in  our  pursuit  of 
knowledge  concerning  this  great  problem.  In  addition  to  the  fundamental  infor- 
mation which  he  has  given  us  concerning  the  composition  of  soils  and  plants  and 
the  sources  from  which  plants  derive  their  sustenance,  we  must  turn  to  him  for  help 
in  determining  whether  the  chemical  constituents  of  a  soil  are  associated  in  normal 
ratio  to  each  other,  and  for  knowledge  concerning  the  materials  with  which  we  may 
most  economically  reenforce  its  stores  of  plant  food. 

In.  the  earlier  days  of  soil  investigation  it  was  assumed  that  this  was  to  be  chiefly  or 
altogether  a  chemical  problem,  but  wTe  now  know  that  we  must  call  upon  the  geologist 
for  information  concerning  the  origin  of  the  soil  and  the  probable  bearing  of  that 
origin  upon  its  present  composition;  upon  the  soil  physicist  for  advice  regarding  its 
mechanical  texture  and  the  effect  of  that  texture  upon  the  availability  of  its  stores  of 
plant  food,  and  upon  the  bacteriologist  for  knowledge  of  the  minute  organisms 
which  inhabit  the  soil,  and  whose  work,  unsuspected  until  a  very  recent  date,  has 
been  shown  to  be  a  most  important  factor  in  the  daily  sustenance  of  the  growing 
crops. 

But  after  all  these  have  given  us  all  the  help  in  their  power  there  still  remain 
unsolved  problems  of  vital  importance,  whose  solution  is  only  to  be  found  in  the 
field  itself. 

Our  soils  lie  in  broad  sheets,  varying  in  geologic  origin,  in  physical  texture,  and 
in  chemical  composition;  they  lie  upon  subsoils  equally  variable  in  formation;  they 
are  exposed  to  constant  changes  of  temperature  and  alternations  of  moisture,  to  sun- 
light and  its  imperfectly  known  influences,  and  to  the  still  less  understood  influences 
of  that  mysterious  force  which  we  call  electricity.     Not  only  this,  but  they  are  occu- 


128 

pied  by  living  organisms,  of  whose  functions  we  as  yet  know  but  little,  although  that 
little  is  sufficient  to  show  that  they  are  of  the  utmost  importance.  These  conditions 
never  recur  in  orderlj  succession,  but  each  season  has  its  peculiar  influences  which 
work  for  the  welfare  or  the  detriment  of  the  crop.     Some  of  these  conditions  may 

be  more  or  less  completely  reproduced  in  the  lal  (oratory ;  others  are  altogether  beyond 
control.  All  that  the  laboratory  can  do,  therefore,  is  to  point  out  the  way  in  which 
progress  is  indicated;  the  final  and  crucial  test  must  be  made  in  the  field  itself,  for 
it  matters  not  how  promising  a  method  may  appear  under  the  conditions  of  the 
laboratory,  it  it  be  not  also  applicable  to  those  of  the  field  it  is  of  no  practical  value. 

No  greater  mistake  can  be  made  than  to  assume  that  the  scientific  investigation  of 
this  problem  ends  with  the  laboratory;  that  field  research  is  merely  a  simple  affair, 
which  may  be  conducted  by  the  ordinary  farmer,  and  that  it  is  his  business  to  take 
up  the  work  at  the  point  where  the  laboratory  leaves  it.  The  fact  is  that  it  is  the 
laboratory  investigation  which  is  the  relatively  simple  matter,  while  the  making  of 
such  a  field  investigation  as  shall  add  to  the  sum  of  human  knowledge  involves  an 
expense  in  preparation  and  equipment,  a  patience  and  exactitude  in  execution,  and  a 
discernment  in  interpretation  which  makes  this  form  of  research  one  of  the  most 
costly  and  difficult  known  to  science. 

While,  therefore,  the  student  of  the  soil  will  continue  to  use  the  chemist's,  the 
physicist's,  and  the  bacteriologist's  laboratories,  his  chief  laboratory  must  be  the 
field  itself;  and  I  believe  that  as  the  magnitude  and  vast  importance  of  this  work 
are  more  fully  comprehended,  and  as  the  scope  and  province  of  the  field  experiment, 
its  limitations,  and  its  possibilities,  are  more  fully  understood,  the  employment  of  this 
form  of  investigation  will  steadily  increase. 

A  field  experiment  in  fertility  maintenance,  if  it  is  to  accomplish  any  useful  pur- 
pose, must  be  continued,  not  merely  for  a  single  summer,  but  for  many  years  and  on 
the  same  soil,  in  order  to  meet  the  varied  conditions  of  changing  seasons  and  to 
adequately  study  the  peculiarities  of  the  soil.  As  we  look  back  over  ten  years  of 
such  work  at  the  Ohio  Station  we  feel  that  we  have  only  made  a  beginning,"  and  in 
the  final  endowment  of  the  Rothamsted  investigations,  after  fifty  years  of  continuous 
work,  the  greatest  field  experimenter  the  world  has  ever  known  has  expressed  his 
conviction  of  the  necessity  for  long-continued,  stationary  effort. 

For  a  work  involving  such  an  enormous  outlay  in  time  and  labor  as  does  a  field 
experiment  conducted  along  the  lines  I  have  indicated,  it  is  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance that  the  preparation  be  as  thorough  as  possible.  As  a  matter  of  course  the 
soil  upon  which  a  comparative  test  is  instituted  should  be  as  uniform  in  character  as 
possible,  but  this  uniformity  is  extremely  difficult  to  secure.  If  the  land  lies  level 
there  will  be  shallow  depressions  from  which  the  surplus  rainfall  escapes  more  slowly 
than  elsewhere,  thus  increasing  the  water  supply  to  an  injurious  extent  in  wet  sear 
sons  and  giving  to  these  depressions  an  undue  advantage  in  dry  seasons,  when  water 
may  be  the  controlling  factor  in  producing  increase  of  crop.  On  the  other  hand, 
slopes  from  which  the  rainfall  rushes  rapidly  must  be  avoided,  as  on  such  slopes 
more  or  less  fertilizing  material  will  be  carried  from  plat  to  plat,  or  the  land  will  be 
washed  into  gullies,  thus  interfering  with  cultivation.  The  ideal  topography  for  this 
work  is  a  broad,  even  slope  of  about  1  or  2  per  cent — or  just  enough  to  give  easy 
though  not  rapid  drainage. 

Not  only  the  surface  but  the  subsoil  must  be  considered  in  locating  a  field  experi- 
ment. Where  beds  of  drift  gravel  or  loosely  stratified  rocks  lie  near  the  surface  they 
will  materially  modify  the  drainage  conditions,  and  uniformity  of  drainage  is  a  mat- 
ter of  prime  importance. 

Most  of  the  agricultural  colleges  have  been  located  with  reference  to  other  matters 
than  field  experiment;  or,  if  this  question  was  considered  at  all,  it  was  with  the  idea 
that  an  experiment  farm  should  have  a  variety  of  soils,  an  idea  which  seems  to  be 
practically  universal  in  the  minds  of  men  not  trained  in  the  actual  work  of  field 
experiment.  The  result  is  that  very  few  of  the  farms  attached  to  these  colleges  pos- 
sess any  qualifications  for  this  work. 

The  Ohio  station  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  permitted  to  select  a  farm  for  its 
work,  after  some  ten  years'  experience  on  an  agricultural  college  farm.  We  found  a 
soil  possessing  in  an  unusual  degree  the  points  which  we  had  found  to  be  necessary 
for  successful  field  investigation,  it  being  a  sheet  of  drift,  lying  in  gentle  slopes  upon 
and  largely  modified  by  a  shaly  sandstone  of  the  Waverly  series,  the  drift  sheet  being 
sufficiently  thick  to  have  formed  a  subsoil  comparatively  impervious  to  water.  AVe 
were  not  able  to  secure  all  the  desirable  points,  as  some  of  our  slopes  are  too  steep 
for  the  best  results,  and  in  some  places  it  has  been  impossible  to  avoid  cross  drain- 
age, while  in  others  differences  in  previous  treatment,  which  1  will  refer  to  again, 
have  brought  about  permanent  inequalities  in  the  natural  fertility  of  the  soil;  but,  as 
we  have  gone  forward  with  the  work  and  observed  other  soils  throughout  the  State, 
we  feel  t  hat  we  have  probably  secured  as  many  of  the  important  features  as  are  likely 


t<>  be  found  on  any  soil  that  has  been  long  in  cultivation.  The  soil  is  a  Bandy  clay, 
quite  uniform  in  texture,  easily  worked,  and  very  responsive  to  treatment,  whether  by 
tillage. or  by  fertilizing. 

The  land  was  laid  off  in  plats  16  feet  wide  by  16V  rods  long,  this  width  of  plat 
being  well  adapted  to  the  various  kinds  of  agricultural  machinery.  The  plats  were 
slightly  ridged  at  the  outset  of  the  work,  thus  providing  independent  surface  drainage 
from  each  plat,  and  this  ridging  is  repeated  at  ten-year  intervals.  At  other  times 
the  land  is  plowed  across  the  plats.  The  plats  are  separated  by  paths  2  feel  wide, 
and  under  every  alternate  path  a  tile  drain  is  laid,  thus  providing  a  drain  on  one 
side  or  the  other  of  every  plat,  and  locating  the  drains  36  feet  apart.  In  a  few  cases 
the  drains  have  been  put  under  every  path,  and  it  would  be  better  for  each  plat  to  have 
its  drain  either  under  the  path  or  under  the  middle  of  the  plat.  On  clay  soils  18 
feet  would  be  none  too  close  for  drains  for  this  work. 

We  have  not  yet  discovered  any  reason  for  making  the  dividing  spaces  between 
the  plats  wider  than  2  feet.  On  the  contrary,  with  care  in  application  of  fer- 
tilizers and  with  our  method  of  ridging,  by  which  the  plats  are  separated  by  dead 
furrows  which  the  plant  roots  are  reluctant  to  cross,  we  believe  that  this  distance  is 
better  than  a  wider  one  would  be.  In  the  case  of  oats  or  wheat,  sown  with  the 
ordinary  grain  drill,  a  2-foot  space  between  plats  gives  2  feet  8  inches  between  rows 
of  grain,  which  is  sufficiently  wide  for  cultivation  when  that  is  necessary  to  keep 
the  weeds  down. 


< 
<* 

■< 
i 

1 

3500 
3  000 
2500 
2000 

PLAT  NO. 

bH                              im  ■ 

1  t  rr  ■  ■ " 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

: 

M 

12 

!3 

14 

: 

6 

17 

18 

\ 

:: 

1 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

n 

28 

29)30 

Diag.  II.— Ten-year  average  yield  and  increase  on  Section  C,  Ohio  Experiment  Station. 

It  was  fortunately  possible  to  lay  off  our  plats  generally  across  the  previous  plow- 
ings,  thus  eliminating  the  discrepancies  caused  by  old  back  furrows  and  dead  furrows. 
This  is  an  important  matter,  as  an  old  ridge  or  furrow  may  completely  reverse  the 
results  of  a  plat  experiment. 

At  an  early  date  in  the  history  of  our  work  in  field  experimentation  we  became 
conviuced  of  the  necessity  for  frequent  repetition  of  check  plats,  and,  therefore,  in 
the  experiments  with  fertilizers  now  in  progress  every  third  plat  has  been  left  con- 
tinuously unfertilized.  This  gives  an  unfertilized  plat  adjoining  every  fertilized  one, 
and  is  a  compromise  between  the  ordinary  method  and  the  ideal  method  of  leaving 
alternate  plats  as  checks.  Our  only  reason  for  not  employing  this  last  method  was 
the  immense  amount  of  land  required.  We  hoped,  at  the  outset,  that  after  some 
years'  work  the  check  plats  might  develop  sufficient  uniformity  to  permit  the  use  of 
a  part  of  them  for  other  purposes;  but  at  the  end  of  ten  years  we  find  ourselves 
apparently  no  nearer  ready  to  dispense  with  any  of  the  checks  than  at  the  outset. 

In  calculating  the  increase  from  the  fertilizers  we  assume  that  variations  between 
the  check  plats  are  progressive,  and  on  this  assumption  we  compare  each  pair  of  fer- 
tilized plats  with  the  two  check  plats  between  which  they  stand,  by  treating  the  four 
plats  as  the  four  terms  of  an  arithmetical  series.  We  never  make  our  comparisons 
on  the  basis  of  simple  averages,  either  of  all  the  plats  or  of  the  two  nearest  checks. 
To  illustrate  the  results  of  this  frequent  repetition  of  checks  and  of  our  method  of 
calculation,  I  have  prepared  the  accompanying  diagrams,  which  show  the  average 
increase  found  on  the  different  plats  in  one  of  our  rotation  experiments,  the  five-year 
rotation  at  Wooster. 

21736— No.  142—04 9 


130 


In  this  experiment  five  sections  of  30  plats  each,  A,B,  C,  D,and  E,  have  been  laid 
out  on  land  apparently  uniform  in  formation  and  previous,  treatment.  Beginning 
with  plat  1,  every  third  plat  up  to  X<>.  28  has  been  left  continuously  unfertilized. 

The  experiment  is  defective  in  that  there  was  not  a  final  unfertilized  plat — No.  31  — 
hut  this  was  omitted  because  of  limitation  of  suitable  land.  The  present  season  gives 
the  tenth  annual  crop  on  sections  A  and  C,  the  ninth  on  D  and  E,  and  the  eighth  on 
B,  of  winch  records  have  been  kept,  the  rotation  beginning  in  1894. 

Diagram  II  shows  the  annual  yield  and  increase  in  total  produce — corn  and  stover, 
wheat,  oats  and  straw,  and  hay — for  the  whole  period  on  section  C,  and  Diagram  III 
shows  the  same  for  the  average  of  the  five  sections.  In  the  ten  years  covered  by  two 
complete  rotations  this  would  give  two  crops  of  each  of  the  cereals  and  four  of  hay  on 
each  section,  the  rotation  being  corn,  oats,  and  wheat,  one  year  each,  and  timothy 
and  clover  mixed,  two  years.  ( )f  late  years  the  clover  has  frequently  failed  to  stand 
over  winter,  in  which  case  it  has  been  plowed  under  and  soy  beans  have  been  grown 
instead,  the  beans  being  followed  by  millet  or  by  another  crop  oi  beans.  This,  how- 
ever, does  not  affect  the  present  discussion. 

The  broken  line  represents  the  level  of  the  unfertilized  yield,  as  found  by  carry- 
ing the  line  from  one  unfertilized  plat  to  the  next,  according  to  the  method  I  have 
explained,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  there  has  been  a  marked  variation  in  the  yield  of 
some  of  these  plats.  No.  28  is  especially  noticeable  in  this  respect.  The  land  upon 
which  this  section  i:;  located  was  all  in  one  field,  as  originally  purchased  by  the  sta- 
tion, and  no  difference  Mas  observed  in  its  character  until  the  yield  of  the  first  crops 


3500 
3000 
2500 

■  |J 

J" 

. J- ■- j-jI 

I 

I 

c 

2000 
1500 

I 

B 

cr 

a 

PLAT  NO. 

i 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

II 

1'. 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

Diag.  III.— Ten-year  average  yield  and  increase  on  the  five  sections,  Ohio  Experiment  Station. 

grown  in  preparation  for  this  test  came  to  be  examined,  when  the  sudden  rise  in  the 
yield  of  plat  28  caused  inquiry  to  be  made  regarding  the  previous  history  of  the  field. 
This  inquiry  revealed  the  fact  that  a  lane  had  once  occupied  the  space  now  covered 
by  plat  28  and  parts  of  the  adjacent  plats  27  and  29.  This  lane  had  been  abandoned 
some  ten  years  or  more  before  the  land  came  into  possession  of  the  station  and  was 
thrown  into  the  field,  yet  the  yield  of  corn  this  year,  1903,  twenty  or  more  years  after 
the  lane  had  been  abandoned,  is  nearly  double  the  best  yield  on  any  other  unfer- 
tilized plat  in  the  series.  A  glance  at  the  diagram  will  show  that  a  computation  of 
increase  on  the  basis  of  the  general  average  of  all  the  unfertilized  plats,  as  shown  by 
the  line  AB,  would  have  given  enormously  exaggerated  yields  to  the  plats  at  this  end 
of  the  test,  while,  had  we  adopted  the  formerly  common  method  of  leaving  but  one 
or  two  unfertilized  plats  and  No.  28  had  happened  to  be  one  of  them,  and  had  our 
work  been  limited  to  this  one  section,  we  should  have  had  results  absolutely  mislead- 
ing and  worthless.  The  line  AC  would  then  have  indicated  the  supposed  average. 
It  should  be  explained  that  plate  17,  21,  23,  and  24  receive  the  same  quantities  of 
nitrogen,  phosphorus,  and  potassium,  the  nitrogen  being  conveyed  in  different 
carriers.  Plats  11,  26,  27,  and  29  also  receive  the  same  quantities  of  each  of  the  three 
elements,  the  phosphorus  being  carried  in  raw  bone  meal  to  plat  26,  in  dissolved 
bone  black  to  plat  27,  and  in  basic  slag  to  plat  29.  The  first  four  plats  now  receive  half 
the  quantity  of  nitrogen  and  twice  the  quantity  of  phosphorus  that  is  given  to  the 
other  four,  but  previous  to  1899  the  eight  plats  received  the  same  quantities  of  each  of 
the  three  elements. 


131 

In  the  following  tabic  I  have  given   the  average  annual  increase  found  <>n   these 
plats  in  .section  C  by  the  different  methods  of  computation: 

Increase  (on ml  on  section  Cby  different  methods  of  computation. 


Plat. 

By  ilea r- 

"  est 
checks. 

By  aver- 
age oi  all 

checks. 

By  ex- 
treme 

checks. 

17    

1,024 
1,071 
1,127 
1,132 

1,334 
1,166 

1,323 

1,292 

831 
912 

1,003 
1,000 

1,187 
1,463 
1,915 

2, 198 

377 

21                                

458 

23                               

249 

24                           ? 

612 

11            

732 

26                       

1,009 
1,471 
1,744 

27                

29     

A  glance  at  this  table  and  a  comparison  of  the  two  diagrams  given  show  that 
whereas  our  method  of  calculation  yields  practically  consistent  results,  the  outcome  of 
either  of  the  other  methods  is  altogether  unreliable. 

In  view  of  this  comparison  I  find  it  easy  to  understand  why  some  experimenters 
who  have  contented  themselves  with  the  use  of  but  one  or  two  check  plats  in  a  series 
should  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  no  possibility  of  obtaining  reliable 
results  in  field  experiment. 

I  do  not  claim  that  it  is  possible  to  obtain  the  exact  results  in  this  form  of  experi- 
ment that  may  be  reached  in  the  chemist's  laboratory,  where  all  the  conditions  are 
under  absolute  control.  The  field  experiment  deals  with  general  problems,  the  lab- 
oratory with  special  ones,  and  the  field  experiment  must  be  interpreted  with  respect 
to  its  limitations.  The  field  experiment  bears  somewhat  the  same  relation  to  labo- 
ratory investigation  that  the  oil  painting  does  to  the  photograph.  The  painter's 
brush  can  never  approach  the  camera  in  exactitude  and  minuteness  of  detail,  yet  the 
goal  of  photography  is  the  blending  into  one  harmonious  and  true  picture  of  land 
and  sea,  mountain,  forest,  and  stream,  sky  and  cloud,  which  the  master  painter 
attains.  The  experiments  I  have  been  describing  are  made  on  a  soil  of  very  indefinite 
history;  they  have  been  in  progress  not  quite  long  enough  to  complete  two  rotations 
on  the  separate  sections.  During  the  ten  years  covered  by  this  investigation  have 
occurred  five  seasons  of  greater  or  less  injury  to  the  wheat  crops  from  unfavorable 
seasons  and  Hessian  fly,  in  one  of  which  the  average  wheat  yield  for  the  State  was 
reduced  to  the  lowest  point  in  half  a  century.  The  corn  crop  has  also  suffered  from 
drought  and  insects,  the  one  just  harvested  especially  being  severely  injured  by  white 
grub.  Both  this  insect  and  the  Hessian  fly,  however,  are  apt  to  distribute  their 
operations  over  entire  fields,  so  that  the  comparative  results  are  not  so  much  dis- 
turbed as  they  would  be  in  case  of  chinch-bug  attack,  which  we  have  fortunately 
thus  far  escaped. 

But  these  insect  attacks  have  added  to  the  practical  value  to  the  farmer  of  the 
experiments,  in  demonstrating  that  manure  and  the  fertilizing  materials  in  common 
use  do  not  prevent  such  attacks,  but  nevertheless  accomplish  a  useful  service  in 
enabling  the  plant  to  overcome  them. 

Investigations  of  this  kind  may  include  the  growing  of  crops  in  continuous  culture, 
in  order  to  study  the  feeding  habits  of  different  plants,  but  rotative  cropping  is  nec- 
essary when  the  object  in  view  is  the  study  of  fertility  maintenance.  But  no  satis- 
factory results  can  be  secured  from  an  experiment  in  rotative  cropping  unless  each 
crop  of  the  rotation  is  grown  every  year.  An  experiment  in  which  the  different 
crops  follow  each  other  without  any  fixed  plan,  either  of  cropping  or  of  fertilizing 
can  not  be  called  a  scientific  investigation,  and  if  the  experiment  is  to  be  made  this 
season  here  and  next  season  yonder  it  might  as  well  not  be  made  at  all. 

In  illustration  of  the  importance  of  continuity  in  this  work,  I  give  a  table  showing, 
in  two  five-year  periods,  the  total  value  of  the  increase  on  a  few  of  the  plats  in  the 
five-year  rotation  under  consideration,  estimating  corn  at  one-third  of  a  dollar  per 
bushel,  oats  at  25  cents,  wheat  at  two-thirds  of  a  dollar,  stover  at  $3  per  ton,  straw 
at  $2,  and  hay  at  $6.66f,  thus  reducing  the  crops  to  a  common  denominator  based 
upon  approximate  market  values,  which  has  this  advantage  over  giving  merely  the 
total  weight,  that  it  brings  out  more  distinctly  the  increase  or  decrease  of  the  more 
valuable  constituents  of  the  crop,  and  is  therefore  the  more  truly  scientific  method. 


132 


Comparison  of  increase  by  five-year  "periods 


Plat. 


Value  of  in- 
crease. 


Net  Rain  over 
cost  of  fertilizer. 


Fertilizing  elements. 


I  Mk  tsphorus 

Phosphorus  and  nitrogen 

Phosphorus  and  potassium 

Phosphorus,  potassium,  and  nitrogen 


First 
period 


§7.  66 
16.  92 
12.62 
21.86 


Second 

period. 


$15.  01 
28.  75 
19.90 
35.  03 


First     Second 
period,    period. 


$5.  26 

2.  52 

3.  72 

.96 


$12.61 
14.35 
11.00 

14.13 


During  the  first  five  years  or  more  of  this  test  phosphorus  seemed  to  be  the  con- 
trolling element  in  producing  increase  of  crop,  and  while  the  addition  of  potash 
and  nitrogen  regularly  increased  the  yield,  the  increase  was  not  sufficient  to  justify 
the  use  of  these  elements,  at  least  in  the  quantities  employed  in  this  test,  quantities 
based  upon  the  chemical  composition  of  the  crops,  except  that  nitrogen  has  been 
used  in  a  much  smaller  ratio  to  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  than  would  be  indicated 
by  the  composition  of  average  yields  of  the  crops  grown  in  this  experiment.  The 
actual  quantities  used  on  each  five-year  rotation  are  as  follows: 

Pounds. 

Phosphoric  acid,  in  acid  phosphate,  per  acre 50 

Potash  in  the  muriate,  per  acre 130 

Nitrogen,  in  nitrate  of  soda,  per  acre 75 

The  fertilizers  are  distributed  over  the  three  cereal  crops  of  the  rotation — corn, 
oats,  and  wheat — the  mixed  clover  and  timothy  following  for  two  years  without  any 
further  fertilizing.  The  experiment  was  planned  with  the  assumption  that  the 
clover  would  probably  make  up  the  deficit  in  nitrogen;  but  latterly  the  clover  has 
been  refusing  to  grow,  especially  upon  the  plats  treated  with  acid  phosphate,  and 
while  the  hunger  of  the  soil  for  phosphorus  is  apparently  being  gradually  satisfied, 
the  demand  for  nitrogen  remains  constant  or  increasing,  and  it  is  the  plats  receiving 
large  applications  of  nitrogen  which  are  now  not  only  giving  the  largest  gross  yield, 
but  also  the  largest  net  profit,  even  though  the  nitrogen  costs  15  cents  per  pound. 

I  am  not  able  to  see  how  this  result  could  have  been  arrived  at  by  any  shorter  or 
surer  method  than  the  one  we  have  followed. 

One  of  the  great  difficulties  in  field  investigation,  especially  with  cultivated  crops 
such  as  corn  or  potatoes,  is  to  secure  a  uniform  stand.  We  are  sure  to  have  some 
missing  hills,  and  potatoes  are  often  more  or  less  affected  by  blight  or  rosette.  It 
has  been  our  practice  to  count  the  hills  on  each  plat,  and,  in  the  case  of  corn,  to 
count  the  stalks,  separating  those  which  bear  two  ears  and  those  which  are  barren, 
and  to  count  the  ears  and  nubbins.  Unless  the  stand  has  been  very  irregular,  how- 
ever, we  do  not  attempt  to  make  any  correction,  as  we  have  not  yet  discovered  an 
entirely  satisfactory  basis  for  such  corrections.  The  additional  space  given  to  the 
survivors  by  the  failure  of  a  stalk  or  hill  seems  to  result  in  a  partial  compensation. 
The  most  satisfactory  basis  of  correction  seems  to  be  that  of  the  actual  stand,  rather 
than  that  of  the  full  stand.  This  method  gives  average  results  corresponding  to  the 
yield  actually  harvested,  whereas  when  we  calculate  to  full  stand  the  yields  are 
often  exaggerated. 

It  is  sometimes  absolutely  necessary  to  make  such  corrections  or  else  to  lose  the 
experiment,  or  suffer  it  to  tell  a  misleading  story. 

Another  difficulty  is  to  avoid  mistakes  in  weighing,  and  as  a  check  in  this  direc- 
tion we  have  adopted  the  plan  of  leaving  the  grain  from  each  plat  of  wheat  or  oats 
in  labeled  sacks  until  the  reported  weights  can  be  studied  in  the  office.  The  first 
operation  is  to  calculate  the  weight  of  straw  per  bushel  of  grain;  if  we  find  a  dis- 
crepancy here  the  sacks  are  weighed  again.  By  this  method  we  have  several  times 
secured  the  correction  of  such  mistakes.  In  the  case  of  corn,  the  ears  and  nubbins 
are  counted  separately  and  separately  weighed.  If  a  discrepancy  appears  in  the 
weights  per  ear  or  per  nubbin,  a  basis  of  correction  is  found  by  comparing  the 
counts  of  ears,  nubbins,  and  stalks. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  greatest  care  should  be  exercised  to  secure  uni- 
formity in  the  preparation  of  the  seed  bed,  in  the  selection  and  planting  of  the  seed, 
in  the  distribution  of  the  fertilizers,  and  in  the  culture  of  the  crop.  Wherever  pos- 
sible machinery  should  be  employed,  as  properly  handled  machinery  will  do  more 
uniform  work  than  can  be  done  by  hand. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  repeat  my  conviction  that  conclusions  relating  to  the  main- 
tenance or  increase  of  soil  fertility  must  be  confirmed  in  the  field  before  they  can  be 


133 

accepted  as  final;  that  the  work  of  the  field,  if  it  is  to  have  any  value,  must  be  con- 
ducted on  principles  as  thoroughly  scientific  as  those  which  control  the  most  elab- 
orate laboratory  investigations,  and  that  when  the  work  is  thus  conducted  it  will 
yield  results  as  decisive  as  those  attained  in  any  other  line  of  scientific  research. 

And  since  the  existence  and  increase  of  the  human  race  depends  upon  the  main- 
tenance and  increase  of  soil  fertility,  I  maintain  that  this  problem  transcends  in 
importance  all  other  objects  of  scientific  investigation. 

E.  B.  Voorhees,  of  New  Jersey,  read  the  following  paper: 

METnoDs  of  Conducting  Investigations  Relating  to  the  Maintenance  or  Increase 

of  Soil  Fertility. 

The  terms  "maintenance"  or  "increase  of  soil  fertility "  have  reference,  first,  to 
methods  of  practice  which  may  result  in  changes  in  the  physical  character  of  the 
soil  and  in  the  form  of  the  essential  constituents — nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  or 
potash — and  may  have  no  relation  whatever  to  the  increase  in  the  soil  of  potential 
fertility,  or,  second,  to  the  addition  to  the  soil  of  actual  essential  constituents,  thus 
adding  to  potential  fertility;  or,  third,  to  the  addition  to  the  soil  of  organic  matter 
containing  nitrogen,  which  may  affect  its  chemical  and  physical  character,  and  which 
may  also  result  in  the  addition  to  the  soil  of  nitrogen,  because  of  the  introduction 
into  the  soil  of  living  organisms  which  have  the  power  of  fixing  atmospheric 
nitrogen. 

Experiments  which  have  for  their  object  the  study  of  any  one  of  these  three  kinds 
of  improvement,  to  be  of  service,  may  be  either  general  or  specific.  A  method  of 
inquiry,  which  is  general  in  its  character,  does  not  permit  of  a  close  study  of  the 
reasons  for  and  thus  an  explanation  of  the  phenomena  involved,  but  has  to  do 
primarily  with  results.  General  methods  of  inquiry  have  their  place,  and  a  very 
useful  one,  from  the  practical  standpoint,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  they  can  only  be 
regarded  as  preparatory,  and,  in  a  sense,  educational,  and  not  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  new  facts  and  principles. 

In  the  second  method  of  inquiry  the  work  is  purely  scientific  and  is  planned  with 
the  specific  purpose  of  enabling  an  accurate  observation  of  all  the  changes  taking 
place  and  a  control  of  all  of  the  conditions  which  are  involved.  By  this  method 
pots  and  cylinders  or  other  means  of  obtaining  small  areas  are  usually  included. 
The  advantage  of  this  specific  method  of  experiment  is  that  because  of  an  exact 
control  of  all  of  the  conditions — chemical,  physical,  and  bacteriological — a  reason  for 
any  change  which  may  take  place  in  the  soil  is  suggested,  and  thus  facts  and  princi- 
ples are  established  upon  which  may  be  based  a  working  theory  for  the  improvement 
of  soils  in  general. 

Nevertheless,  I  believe  that  there  is  a  field  for  general  methods  of  experimentation 
that  have  for  their  purpose  the  improvement  of  methods  of  practice  and  that  will 
result  in  the  maintenance  or  conservation  of  soil  fertility;  and  whenever  it  is  possible 
to  so  conduct  these  experiments  as  to  have  the  results  serve  as  object  lessons,  the 
work  should  not  be  ignored.  As  an  example  of  what  I  mean  by  this,  I  may  cite  an 
experiment  very  general  in  its  character  conducted  by  our  own  station  on  the  relation 
of  the  income  and  outgo  of  soils  to  the  improvement  or  crop-producing  power  of  soils. 
This  experiment  was  planned  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  by  the  observation  of 
natural  laws  and  of  the  principles  already  established  it  was  possible  to  grow  profit- 
able crops,  while  at  the  same  time  to  maintain  or  increase  active  fertility. 

In  this  experiment  three  general  principles  already  well  established  were  observed: 
First,  that  nitrogenous  plant  food  particularly  is  available  in  proportion  to  its  solu- 
bility; second,  that  natural  agencies  are  constantly  at  work  changing  dormant  con- 
stituents into  active  or  available  forms,  and,  consequently,  third,  that  soils  when  left 
bare  during  fall  and  winter  are  liable  to  suffer  a  loss,  not  only  of  the  nitrates  that 
may  have  been  accumulated  during  the  summer,  but  also  that  under  such  conditions 
of  cropping  mechanical  losses  are  liable  to  occur,  and  that  the  first  parts  to  be  car- 
ried away  by  the  winds  or  the  washing  of  the  winter  rains  are  the  finer  particles 
which  constitute  the  best  part  of  the  soil.  Hence,  in  the  experiment  the  first  rule 
adopted  was  that  the  land  should  not  lie  bare  at  any  season  of  the  year,  and  if  the 
removal  of  regular  crops  was  so  late  as  to  prevent  the  seeding  of  a  crop  that  would 
live  during  the  entire  winter,  such  crops  were  planted  as  would  grow  late  in  the  fall 
and  remain  to  protect  and  mulch  the  surface  soil  during  the  winter  and  early  spring. 
This  is  to  show  that  the  practice  would  result  not  only  in  a  saving  of  the  soluble 
plant-food  constituents,  but  would  prevent  the  mechanical  waste  of  soil  particles,  and 
besides,  in  case  of  certain  crops,  would  provide  for  an  accumulation  of  nitrogen  or 
an  actual  increase  in  potential  fertility.  For  example,  if  rye  were  used  in  the  fall 
losses  would  be  prevented ;  the  actual  gain  would  be  chiefly  in  the  roots  and  stubble, 


134 

as  the  crop  would  be  harvested  and  but  very  little  "addition  of  organic  matter  made 
to  the  soil.  If  crimson  clover  were  used,  then  a  crop  rich  in  nitrogen  would  be  har- 
vested, leaving  a  residue  also  rich  in  nitrogen,  adding  to  the  soil  stores  of  both  nitro- 
gen and  vegetable  matter.  J  f  turnips  or  rape  were  used,  then  the  chief  gains  would  he 
in  the  organic  matter  stored  up  in  the  fall  and  in  the  protecting  of  the  soil  from  washing 
and  from  leaching  during  the  winter.  The  next  rule  observed  was  based  upon  the 
principle  that  the  dormant  constituents  of  soils  are  changed  into  active  in  proportion 
as  the  soil  particles  are  made  finer  and  greater  surfaces  brought  into  contact  with  the 
atmospheric  agencies.  Hence,  the  experiment  provided  for  frequent  and  practically 
continuous  cropping,  which  was  naturally  accompanied  by  more  frequent  cultivation 
and  changing  of  the  soil  particles  and  a  greater  accumulation  of  organic  matter  in  the 
soil,  by  virtue  of  the  residues  of  the  catch  and  other  crops.  The  biological  properties 
of  soils  were  also  recognized,  and  care  was  taken  to  have  the  soil  covered  (luring  the 
hot,  dry  periods,  in  order  that  the  life  would  be  maintained  and  encouraged  and  not 
destroyed  by  the  high  temperatures  that  would  be  developed  in  the  bare  soils  during 
the  hot  summer  months. 
The  results  obtained  by  this  experiment  for  2  acres  of  land  are  tabulated  herewith: 

PLAT  16,  1  ACRE. 


Applied. 

Taken  off. 

Balance. 

Year. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Potash. 

Nitro- 
gen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid. 

Potash. 

Nitrogen. 

Phos- 
phoric, 
acid. 

Potash. 

1896  and  1897  .... 
1898 and  1899  .... 
1900  and  1901  .... 

Pounds. 
18.78 
82.  78 

71.15 

1 'omuls. 
31.11 
100.  79 
122.52 

1'oUllds. 

41.37 
114.35 
254.  33 

Pounds. 

67. 40 
290. 68 
203. 92 

Pounds. 

35.52 

114.20 

86.  74 

Pounds. 

85. 08 
287. 52 
277.  82 

Pounds. 

-  48.62 

-207. 90 

-132.77 

Pounds. 

-  4.41 
-13.41 

+35.  78 

Pounds. 

-  43.71 
-143.17 

-  23.49 

Balance, 

-389. 29 

+  17.90 

—210. 37 

PLAT  19,  1  ACRE. 


1896  and  1897 

Pounds. 

15.81 
80.  68 

rx;.  -^ 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

55.91 
1  is.  \)2 
251.39 

Pounds. 
25. 14 
59.07 
91.40 

Pounds. 
50.38 
197.  67 
336. 00 

Pounds. 

-  40.10 

-  68.24 
-194.84 

Pounds. 
-25. 14 
+72.00 
-13.47 

Pounds. 
5'J.  38 

1898  and  1899 

1900  and  1901  .... 

131.07 

77.  93 

160.86 

190.  39 

-  36.81 

1  15.  61 

Balance, 

-303. 18 

+33. 39 

-232.80 

The  table  shows  the  income  and  outgo  to  the  soil  of  the  fertilizer  constituents, 
nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash,  on  2-acre  plats.  The  increase  or  decrease  in 
soil  constituents  are  grouped  in  periods  of  two  years  each.  It  is  shown,  in  the  case 
of  plat  16,  that  there  was  removed  by  the  first  two  crops  nearly  50  pounds  more  of 
nitrogen,  and  about  44  pounds  more  of  potash  than  was  applied,  yet  the  crops  for  the 
next  series  of  two  years  were  able  to  obtain  over  four  times  as  much  nitrogen  as  in 
the  first  series,  over  three  times  as  much  phosphoric  acid,  and  over  three  times  as 
much  potash  as  the  crops  of  the  previous  period,  and  hence  a  considerable  loss  of 
potential  fertility.  Or,  in  other  words,  notwithstanding  that  there  was  a  marked 
loss  of  the  fertilizer  elements  in  the  first  period,  the  soil  was  improved  in  actual  fer- 
tility, making  its  crop-producing  power  in  the  second  period  three  times  as  great  when 
measured  in  terms  of  constituents  removed.  In  the  third  period  the  crops  were  not 
as  great  as  in  the  second,  though  showing  a  very  much  greater  yield  of  crops  than  in 
the  first  period.  This  lower  crop  yield  is  due  rather  to  seasonal  conditions  than  to 
any  decrease  in  active  fertility.  The  same  relative  results  are  also  shown  in  the  case 
of  the  other  plat,  and  demonstrates  that  by  the  proper  observation  of  natural  laws, 
and  the  judicious  application  of  manures,  it  is  possible  to  increase  soil  condition  and 
crop-producing  power,  while  at  the  same  time  to  very  materially  reduce  the  potential 
fertility.  These  experiments,  though  in  a  sense  general  and  unscientific,  gave  results 
of  great  value;  in  suggesting  rational  methods  of  practice. 

'  n  relation  to  the  second,  or  specific  method,  which  must  in  the  long  run  be  regarded 
as  ot  the  greatest  importance,  because  resulting  in  the  establishment  of  principles,  I 
shall  refer  briefly  to  experimental  methods  already  in  operation  at  our  station,  and 
to  preliminary  results  thai  have  been  obtained,  as  showing  by  contrast  the  greater 
value  of  more  scientific  methods  of  investigation. 


135 

A  question  of  great  importance  at  the  present  time,  and  which  is  properly  receiving 
more  attention  than  any  other  that  has  to  do  with  the  maintenance  of  soil  fertility, 
is  the  question  of  the  utilization  by  crops  of  atmospheric  nitrogen  and  of  its  accumu- 
lation in  the- soil.  The  fact  has  been  established  that  the  members  of  the  legume 
family  of  plants  do  have  the  power  under  proper  conditions  of  absorbing  and  using 
in  their  own  development  the  nitrogen  of  the  air.  The  question  next  of  importance 
from  the  standpoint  of  soil  improvement  and  maintenance  is  whether  the  supply  of 
nitrogenous  plant  food  in  the  soil  has  any  influence  in  determining  the  condition 
of  soil  in  reference  to  proportion  or  amount  of  nitrogen  that  may  be  appropriated  by 
this  class  of  plants,  and  further  the  effect  of  their  growth  under  different  conditions 
of  soil  supply  of  nitrogen  upon  the  nitrogen  content  of  the  soil,  as  well  as  the  sub- 
sidiary question  of  the  relative  value  of  the  nitrogen  so  appropriated  for  the  nourishment 
of  the  nonlegumes. 

The  method  of  investigation  used  in  the  study  of  these  points  is  here  outlined.  A 
soil  was  employed  that  contained  an  abundance  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash,  and 
was,  moreover,  rather  light  in  character,  a  condition  that  would  favor  the  decay  of 
organic  substance.  This  soil  originally  consisted  of  equal  parts  of  weight  of  shah; 
and  quartz  sand,  and  contained  0.09842  per  cent  of  nitrogen  in  the  air-dry  state. 
This  soil  was  used  for  vegetation  experiments  during  three  seasons,  and  at  the  end  (if 
that  time  the  soil  nitrogen  had  diminished  very  considerably.  After  these  experi- 
ments the  soils  from  the  several  boxes  were  thoroughly  mixed  and  inoculated  with 
soil  from  an  area  upon  which  cow  peas  had  been  grown,  and  on  which  the  nitrogen- 
fixing  bacteria  were  present,  and  160-pound  portions  were  weighed  off  and  placed  in 
each  of  the  several  boxes.  Hence,  there  was  in  each  box  a  medium  sandy  soil,  rich 
in  mineral  plant  food.  Nitrogenous  manures  were  added  or  withheld  according  to 
the  following  plan  of  study: 

(1 )  The  study  of  the  source  of  nitrogen  to  cowpeas  under  the  following  conditions: 

(a)  The  addition  of  no  nitrogen. 

(b)  The  addition  of  different  amounts  of  nitrate  nitrogen. 

(c)  The  addition  of  different  amounts  of  dried-blood  nitrogen. 

(d)  The  addition  of  different  amounts  of  ammonia  nitrogen  in  ammonium 

sulphate. 

(e)  The  addition  of  different  amounts  of  cow-manure  nitrogen. 

(2)  The  availability  of  cowpea  nitrogen,  as  compared  with  nitrate,  organic, 
ammonia,  and  manure  nitrogen  for  the  growth  of  nonlegumes. 

(3)  The  possible  accumulation  of  nitrogen  in  cultivated  but  uncropped  soils. 

The  wooden  boxes  used  here  were  numbered  from  1  to  57,  both  inclusive,  and  only 
the  first  30  were  employed  during  the  first  season.     Accordingly  they  received: 

Boxes  1,  2,  3,  nothing. 

Boxes  4,  5,  6,  1  gram  of  nitrogen  as  nitrate  of  soda. 

Boxes  7,  8,  9,  2  grams  of  nitrogen  as  nitrate  of  soda. 

Boxes  10,  11,  12,  1  gram  of  nitrogen  as  dried  blood. 

Boxes  13,  14,  15,  2  grams  of  nitrogen  as  dried  blood. 

Boxes  16,  17,  18,  1  gram  of  nitrogen  as  ammonium  sulphate. 

Boxes  19,  20,  21,  2  grams  of  nitrogen  as  ammonium  sulphate. 

Boxes  22,  23,  24,  1  gram  of  nitrogen  as  in  solid  and  liquid  manure. 

Boxes  25,  26,  27,  2  grams  of  nitrogen  as  in  solid  and  liquid  manure. 

Boxes  28,  29,  30,  nothing,  and  kept  bare. 

The  fertilizers  and  manure  were  applied  to  the  respective  boxes  July  5,  1902;  20 
seeds  of  black-eyed  cowpea  were  planted  in  each  box,  with  the  exception  of  28,  29, 
and  30,  and  8  quarts  of  wrater  were  added  to  supply  the  initial  moisture. 

The  growth  during  the  season  was  fairly  uniform.  At  the  end  of  the  summer  the 
cowpeas  were  harvested,  dried,  and  ground,  and  after  aliquot  portions  were  taken 
for  analysis  the  ground  material  was  kept  dry  in  the  laboratory.  In  the  spring  of 
1903  millet  was  planted  in  the  several  boxes  which  had  been  treated  as  follows: 

Boxes  1-27,  inclusive,  received  each  the  corresponding  cowpea  crop  of  1902. 

Boxes  28,  29,  30  received  no  application  of  nitrogen. 

Boxes  31,  32,  33  received  1  gram  of  nitrogen  in  nitrate  of  soda. 

Boxes  34,  35,  36  received  2  grains  of  nitrogen  in  nitrate  of  soda. 

Boxes  37,  38,  39  received  1  gram  of  nitrogen  in  dried  blood. 

Boxes  40,  41,  42  received  2  grains  of  nitrogen  in  dried  blood. 

Boxes  43,  44,  45  received  1  gram  of  nitrogen  in  sulphate  of  ammonia. 

Boxes  46,  47,  48  received  2  grams  of  nitrogen  in  sulphate  of  ammonia. 

Boxes  49,  50,  51  received  1  gram  of  nitrogen  in  solid  and  liquid  manure,  fresh. 

Boxes  52,  53,  54  received  2  grams  of  nitrogen  in  solid  and  liquid  manure,  fresh. 

Each  box  received  May  29,  1903,  1  teaspoonful  of  barnyard  millet  seed,  but  the 
germination  being  poor  another  teaspoonful  of  millet  seed  was  added  about  ten  days 
later. 


136 


NITROGEN     IN    THE    COWPBA    CROP. 


A  table  has  been  prepared  which  shows  the  percentage  of  nitrogen  and  the  total 
nitrogen  contained  in  the  crops  grown. 

Percentage  of  nitrogen  <ni<1  total  nitrogen  in  crops  grown. 


Box, 


Check 

Nitrate  of  soda,  1  gram 

Nitrate  of  soda,  2  grams 

Dried  blood,  1  gram 

Dried  blood,  2  grams 

•Sulphate  of  ammonia,  1  gram 
•Sulphate  of  ammonia,  2  gram 

Manure,  1  gram 

Manure,  2  grams 


Average 

nitrogen  in 
crop. 


Percent. 
2.282 


2.257 
2.185 
2. 393 
2.188 
2. 345 
2.  314 
2.380 
2. 365 


Average 
nitrogen  in 

crop. 


Grams. 

3. 287 


3. 590 
3.  664 
3.949 
3.683 
3.518 
3.703 
3. 626 
4. 029 


Average  of 
applied  ni- 
trogen 

available. 


P(  r  cent. 


18.9 
66.2 
19.8 
23.7 
20.8 
33.9 
37.1 


The  first  point  of  importance  to  be  observed  is  that  a  very  considerable  crop  was 
obtained  without  the  addition  of  nitrogen,  and  second,  that  there  was  an  increase  in 
the  total  nitrogen  in  the  crops  of  all  of  the  groups  upon  which  nitrogen  had  been 
applied,  though  even  in  the  greatest  increase  the  yield  was  but  slightly  higher  than 
was  that  in  the  group  upon  which  no  nitrogen  had  been  added,  or  that  the  readily 
available  nitrogen  did  not  encourage  the  plant  to  make  an  extensive  use  of  other 
sources  of  nitrogen. 

Another  point  of  importance  was  also  shown,  namely,  that  in  the  case  of  the  solu- 
ble nitrate  and  ammonia,  and  of  organic  nitrogen  in  dried  blood,  the  smaller  quantity 
seemed  to  influence  the  yield  to  a  greater  extent  than  the  larger  quantity.  In  the 
case  of  the  manure  there  was  an  increase  from  the  larger  quantity.  In  other  words, 
the  slowly  available  manure  nitrogen  yielded  more  to  the  cowpeacrop  than  the  con- 
centrated and  highly  available  nitrate  and  ammonia  nitrogen.  This  is  just  the  reverse 
of  the  results  obtained  in  a  study  of  the  availability  of  these  materials  for  the  non- 
legumes. 

The  tabulation  also  shows  that  the  crop  itself  was  proportionately  richer  in  nitro- 
gen on  the  series  where  only  1  gram  of  nitrogen  was  applied.  While  these  points 
are  interesting  and  useful  the  point  of  greatest  importance  was  to  determine  whether, 
under  all  these  conditions,  the  plant  was  capable  of  appropriating  its  nitrogen  from 
the  air  and  the  influence  of  the  growth  of  the  plant  upon  the  nitrogen  content  of  the 
soil.  This  involved  a  chemical  examination  of  the  soils  previous  to  and  after  the 
crops  were  grown.  The  analysis  of  the  soil  previous  to  the  planting  of  the  crop 
showed  that  each  box  contained  54.94  grains  of  total  nitrogen.  The  seed  used  and 
the  water  applied  to  each  box  during  the  season  of  growth  contained  115  milograms, 
or  a  total  of  55.055. 

The  accompanying  table  has  been  arranged  and  shows  the  exact  conditions  in  refer- 
ence to  the  changes  that  took  place  in  the  nitrogen  content  of  the  soils  during  the 
experiment  and  the  amounts  actually  contained  when  the  crops  were  harvested. 


187 


Income  and  outgo  of  the  nitrogen  in  the  box  soils. 


Series. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

G 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

121 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 


Original- 
ly pres- 
ent. 

Nitrogen 

in  seed 

and 

water. 

Grams. 

Grams. 

54.94 

0.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.  94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

■      54. 94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.115 

54.94 

.04 

54.  94 

.04 

54.94 

.04 

Nitrogen 

in  fertil- 
izer or 
manure. 


•1.00 

1.00 

1.00  | 

2.00 

2.00 

2.00 

1.00 

1.00 

1.00 

2.00 

2.00 

2.00 

1.00 

1.00 

1.00 

2.00 

2.00 

2.00 

1.00 

1.00 

1.00 

2.00 

2.00 

2.00 


Total  ni- 
trogen 
present  at 
the  begin- 

Present 

in  soil  at 
the  end 
of  the 

Average. 

ning  of 

the  lirst 
season. 

first  sea- 
son. 

Grams. 

Grams. 

Grams. 

55. 055 

61.48 

| 

55. 055 

62.44 

}      61 .  50 

55. 055 

60.58 

j 

56.  055 

60.82 

1 

56. 055 

60.58 

\      59. 38 

56. 055 

56.  94 

J 

57. 055 

61.00 

| 

57.  055 

60. 82 

)■      60.13 

57.  055 

58.58 

j 

56.  055 

58.16 

| 

56. 055 

59. 82 

}      58.81 

56. 055 

58.44 

j 

57. 055 

64. 62 

1 

57. 055 

56.98 

}      60. 72 

57.  055 

60.56 

J 

56. 055 

56.54 

1 

56.  055 

61.02 

V      59. 05 

56. 055 

59.60 

j 

57. 055 

58.42 

] 

57. 055 

56.52 

I      57. 45 

57.  055 

57.42 

J 

56. 055 

60.70 

1 

56.  055 

57.84 

}      59. 70 

56. 055 

60.58 

1 

57.  055 

61.26 

) 

57. 055 

62.14 

62.27 

57. 055 

64.62 

j 

54.98 

56.12 

1 

54.  98 

58.08 

\      56. 89 

54.98 

56.48 

I 

Gain  in 

soil. 


Grams. 

I  6.  11 

+3. 33 

+3.08 
+2.  76 
+3.67 
+  3.00 
+  .40 


Nitro- 
gen in 
crop. 


Grams. 
3.29 

3.69 

3.66 

3. 95 

3. 68 

3.  52 
3.70 


+3.65  3.63 
+5.62  ;  4.03 
+  1.91    


Total 
gain. 


rams. 

9.  73 
6.  9 

6.74 
6.71 
7.35 
6.52 
4.10 
7.28 
9.65 
1.91 


These  results  show,  first,  that  there  was  a  fixation  of  nitrogen  by  the  cowpea  crop, 
and  that  this  fixation  was  greater  where  no  nitrogen  was  applied  than  in  any  other 
series,  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  soil  upon  which  no  nitrogen  had  been  applied 
contained,  after  the  crop  of  cowpeas  had  been  removed  (which  crop  contained  nitro- 
gen equivalent  to  6  per  cent  of  the  total  contained  in  the  soil  upon  which  the  crop 
was  grown)  6.44  grams,  or  11.7  per  cent  more  nitrogen  than  it  contained  before  the 
plants  were  grown.  This  fact  has  not  been  heretofore  shown,  viz,  that  this  plant,  a 
member  of  the  legume  family,  has  the  power  not  only  of  absorbing  from  the  air  the 
nitrogen  necessary  for  its  own  growth,  but  also  in  its  growth  contributes  to  the  stock 
of  nitrogen  in  the  soil.  In  the  case  of  those  groups  of  soils  receiving  more  or  less  of 
the  different  kinds  and  forms  of  nitrogen  the  same  general  conclusion  is  reached,  but 
the  important  point  is  that  in  no  case  was  the  absorption  of  nitrogen  from  the  air 
greatly  in  excess  of  that  upon  plat  1,  and  in  every  case  the  fixation  of  nitrogen  in  the 
soil  was  very  much  less.  Thus  in  4,  5,  and  6  (1  gram  of  nitrate),  there  wan  an 
average  gain  of  6.92  grams  of  nitrogen  in  the  soil  and  crop,  while  in  7,  8,  and  9, 
where  double  the  amount  of  nitrogen  was  applied  (2  grams  of  nitrate),  the  total  gain 
was  only  6.74  grams  of  nitrogen.  Similarly  in  16,  17,  and  18  (1  gram  of  sulphate  of 
ammonia),  there  was  a  total  average  gain  of  6.52  grams,  and  in  19,  20,  and  21  (2 
grams  of  sulphate  of  ammonia),  there  was  a  total  average  gain  of  4.10  grams  of  nitro- 
gen. In  all  of  the  soils  where  either  nitrate  or  ammonia  was  applied  the  gain  was 
much  less  than  in  the  soils  .where  no  nitrogen  salt  was  applied.  This,  taken  together 
with  the  fact  that  the  application  of  the  double  portion  of  either  nitrate  or  of  ammonia 
resulted  in  a  smaller  yield  as  compared  with  the  single  portion,  shows  clearly  that 
the  soluble  nitrogen  exerted  a  depressing  effect  on  the  process  of  fixation. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  find  that  the  total  average  gain  in  10,  11,  and  12  (1  gram 
dried  blood),  was  smaller  than  that  in  13,  14,  and  15  (2  grams  of  dried  blood),  the 
corresponding  amounts  being  6.71  grams  and  7.35  grams.  In  22,  23,  and  24  (1  gram 
of  manure),  the  average  total  gain  was  7.28  grams,  and  in  25,  26,  and  27  (2  grams  of 
manure),  the  corresponding  gain  was  9.65  grams.  Here  we  find  that  the  less  soluble 
organic  nitrogen  was  not  detrimental  to  the  fixation  of  atmospheric  nitrogen  when 
applied  in  double  the  amounts. 

I  have  given  this  plan  of  experimentation  and  certain  of  the  results  mainly  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  the  importance  of  investigations  of  this  character  and  the  value 


138 

of  the  scientific  control  of  the  conditions  involved.  In  but  one  phase  of  the  experi- 
ment important  facts  have  been  discovered;  these,  as  the  work  proceeds,  maybe  sup- 
plemented or  modified  by  other  facts  and  suggestions,  so  that  when  the  experiment 
is  completed  in  all  its  phases  something  may  have  been  added  to  the  sum  of  human 
know  ledge. 

F.  B.  Mnmford,  of  Missouri,  read  the  following  paper: 

Experiments  in  Animal  Breeding. 

Applied  agriculture  is  far  from  being  an  exact  science.  Throughout  the  entire 
history  of  agriculture  until  recent  times  the  cultivator  of  the  soil  has  pursued  meth- 
ods the  results  of  which  could  not  be  predicted  with  any  degree  of  certainty.  This 
lack  of  exactness  has  been  due  largely  to  the  natural  conditions  which  surround  the 
activities  of  agriculturists.  The  uncertainties  of  climate,  soil,  and  inherited  tenden- 
cies of  plants  and  animals  employed  by  the  farmer  have  all  conspired  to  render  his 
occupation  one  of  the  most  uncertain  and  unreliable  of  all  those  known  to  man. 

While  this  has  been  true,  and  it  is  largely  true  at  the  present  time,  the  investiga- 
tions of  experiment  stations  in  more  recent  times  have  succeeded  in  reducing  many 
of  the  practices  of  agriculture  to  an  exactness  which  would  in  earlier  times  have 
been  considered  wholly  impossible.  This  is  well  illustrated  by  the  results  of  the 
experiments  in  feeding.  The  cattle  feeder  of  to-day  can  estimate  with  considerable 
accuracy  the  efficiency  of  a  given  amount  of  corn  fed  in  connection  with  clover  hay 
to  cattle  of  a  certain  age  and  condition.  The  swine  feeder  knows  that  a  bushel  of 
corn  when  fed  to  pigs  weighing  100  pounds  will  yield  in  all  probability  a  certain 
delinite  amount  of  pork.  This  ability  to  estimate  the  results  from  feeding  operations 
has  been  due  entirely  to  the  accurate,  painstaking  work  of  the  experiment  stations. 

Not  only  in  feeding  have  the  stations  contributed  to  the  exactness  with  which  the 
science  of  applied  agriculture  is  now  conducted,  but  in  many  other  lines  the  stations 
have  successfully  prosecuted  investigations  whose  results  have  made  it  possible 
for  the  farmer  to  carry  on  his  business  in  a  much  more  exact  and  profitable  manner. 
The  teachers  of  agronomy,  animal  husbandry,  and  dairying  now  speak  with  assur- 
ance and  definiteness  on  many  of  the  most  fundamental  facts  underlying  these 
subjects.  The  teaching  of  agriculture,  which  a  few  years  ago  was  merely  an  expres- 
sion of  opinion  on  the  part  of  the  teacher,  usually  unsupported  by  any  actual 
investigations,  has  now  been  reduced  to  a  much  more  thoroughly  organized  subject. 

ANIMAL   BREEDING    AX    EXCEPTION'. 

While  all  this  may  be  said  with  perfect  truth  of  the  subjects  mentioned  above,  it 
is  also  equally  true  that  in  the  subject  of  animal  breeding  the  experiment  stations 
have  given  practically  no  help  whatsoever  to  the  modern  teacher  of  this  subject. 
The  most  important  investigations  which  throw  light  upon  the  practical  work  of  the 
breeder  of  live  stock  were  performed  in  most  cases  many  years  ago  and  by  men  not 
connected  in  any  way  with  experiment  stations.  With  one  or  two  exceptions  only 
the  experiment  stations  of  the  United  States  have  not  even  attempted  to  solve  the 
problems  which  confront  the  breeder.  The  breeder  of  live  stock  to-day  is  engaged 
in  the  most  uncertain  of  all  the  operations  conducted  by  the  farmer.  He  is  still 
dependent  upon  "rule  of  thumb"  methods.  He  has  no  great  and  guiding  principles 
whi(  h,  when  followed,  can  be  relied  upon  to  produce  desired  results  with  certainty, 
lie  must  still  cut  and  try  with  the  hope  that  some  of  his  plans  may  result  in  success. 

Recognizing,  as  we  must,  this  condition  which  exists,  we  may  well  ask  ourselves  the 
question  whether  it  is  possible  for  the  experiment  stations  to  investigate  in  a  scientific 
manner  the  important  problems  which  confront  the  breeder.  If  we  decide  that 
there  are  problems  to  be  solved,  and  that  these  problems  are  proper  subjects  of 
investigation  on  the  part  of  the  experiment  stations,  then  there  can  be  no  valid 
excuse  for  neglecting  longer  this  branch  of  animal  husbandry.  It  must  be  admitted 
that  investigations  calculated  to  throw  light  upon  the  complex  problems  of  the 
breeder  are  among  the  most  difficult  and  expensive  of  any  which  have  so  far  been 
undertaken  by  the  American  stations.  The  element  of  time  is  also  a  factor  which 
cannot  be  ignored.  The  station  that  undertakes  to  successfully  prosecute  experi- 
ments in  animal  breeding  that  shall  yield  valuable  results,  must  not  expect  immedi- 
ate results,  and  may  possibly  hope  only,  to  point  out  the  way  for  others  who  will 
take  up  this  question  later.  It  is  probably  this  fact  that  has  deterred  most  stations 
from  taking  up  this  line  of  investigation. 


139 

INSTRUCTION    IX    ANIMAL    BREEDING. 

As  long  as  animal  breeding  is  included  in  the  curriculum  of  every  agricultural 
college,  just  so  long  will  there  be  a  crying  need  for  careful  observations  on  certain 
phenomena,  and  just  bo  long  will  there  be  need  of  accurate  observations  to  determine 
the  truth  or  fallacy  of  certain  questions  of  breeding.  There  is  perhaps  no  subject 
taught  in  our  agricultural  colleges  that  is  so  largely  based  upon  unreliable  and 
unscientific  data.  Our  present  knowledge  of  breeding  is  based  upon  chance  obser- 
vations, mostly  by  untrained  observers.  No  systematic  effort  has  so  far  been  made 
to  investigate*  these  breeding  problems  with  the  definite  purpose  of  formulating 
fundamental  general  principles. 

The  embryologists  and  cytologists  have  given  us  some  valuable  suggestions  as  to 
the  real  problems  of  heredity,  but  they  have  not  furnished  any  satisfactory  solution 
of  many  of  the  mysterious  and  intricate  questions  of  heredity.  Many  of  the  observed 
phenomena  bring  about  changes  in  the  developing  embryo  too  minute  to  be  observed 
by  any  present  methods  of  investigation  at  our  command.  In  this  connection  the 
investigation  of  Sutton  and  others  on  the  individuality  of  the  chromosomes,  and  the 
work  of  Guyer  on  spermatogenesis  of  hybrids,  should  be  remembered.  These  inves- 
tigations point  to  a  cytological  explanation  of  Mendel's  law. 

PROPER   SUBJECTS   OF    INVESTIGATIONS. 

It  may  be  stated  at  the  outset  that  there  are  certain  questions  which  are  not  in  the 
present  'state  of  our  knowledge  proper  subjects  for  investigation.  The  peculiar  con- 
ditions by  which  they  are  surrounded  makes  the  securing  of  valuable  data  exceed- 
ingly improbable.  We  need  at  the  present  time  carefully  planned  and  executed 
experiments  where  all  the  conditions  can  be  controlled.  I  can  not  hope  at  this  time 
to  even  suggest  all  of  the  fruitful  lines  which  might  be  undertaken  by  investigators 
in  animal  breeding,  but  I  venture  to  call  your  attention  to  certain  classes  of  facts 
which  it  seems  to  me  are  proper  subjects  of  investigation  and  upon  which  the  experi- 
ments of  the  animal  breeder  may  throw  some  light. 

The  one  quality  most  desired,  and  from  every  standpoint  most  important  in  our 
improved  breeds  of  live  stock,  is  prepotency.  The  ability  of  a  well-improved  animal 
type  to  perpetuate  its  improved  qualities  is  the  most  valuable  character  it  can  possess. 
In  a  breeding  animal  all  other  qualities  sink  into  insignificance  in  the  absence  of  this 
power  of  transmission.  I  believe,  therefore,  that  an  investigation  of  prepotency 
should  form  the  foundation  stone  of  a  rational  series  of  breeding  experiments.  In 
investigating  the  conditions  which  control  or  influence  prepotency  we  must  study 
the  influence  of  limited  inbreeding,  continuous  in-and-in  breeding,  cross  breeding, 
telegony,  the  relative  influence  of  parents,  the  age  of  the  animal,  and  their  physical 
condition  at  the  time  of  mating;  but  an  investigation  of  these  questions  has  to  do  with 
the  fundamental  principles  of  stock  breeding.  The  results  secured  from  such  a  series 
of  investigations  would  give  us  data  of  the  most  valuable  character. 

Experiments  conducted  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  effect  of  continued 
inbreeding  ought  to  throw  light  upon  the  supposed  bad  influences  following  this 
practice  as  well  as  the  desirable  results.  However  strongly  we  may  hold  to  the 
belief  that  diminished  size,  lessened  fecundity,  and  weakened  constitution  follow  this 
practice,  it  is  generally  conceded  that  in-and-in  breeding  does  result  in  giving  to  the 
animal  a  greater  prepotency. 

We  are  likewise  generally  agreed  that  certain  results  are  almost  sure  to  follow  the 
cross  breeding  of  well-established  types,  and  one  of  the  results  which  is  most  widely 
accepted  is  that  it  destroys  the  prepotency  of  animals,  and  in  certain  cases  this  seems 
to  be  a  result,  but  recent  investigations  have  suggested  that  certain  dominant  char- 
acters may  be  transmitted  from  parent  to  offspring  unchanged,  and  this  is  especially 
true  of  types  which  are  markedly  different. 

We  are  in  the  habit  of  thinking  of  the  whole  subject  of  the  relative  influence  of 
parents  upon  offspring  as  a  superstition  unverified  by  accurate  observation.  Lead- 
ing biologists  are  perhaps  a  unit  in  the  belief  that  there  can  be  no  influence  exerted 
by  an  animal  due  to  sex  alone.  When  certain  characters  have  apparently  been 
transmitted  by  the  male  and  others  by  the  female,  it  is  generally  held  that  the 
strength  of  transmission  in  such  cases  is  determined  by  a  greater  prepotency  as  a 
result  of  better  breeding.  Authorities  seem  to  be  agreed  that  there  can  be  no  such 
thing  as  prepotency  depending  upon  sex.  At  the  same  time  there  are  a  large  class 
of  facts  and  some  accurate  observations  that  indicate  in  the  case  of  reciprocal  crosses 
there  is  a  decided  difference  between  the  qualities  of  the  offspring.  It  is,  per- 
haps, not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  by  natural  selection  the  male  may  have 
acquired  prepotency  in  connection  with  other  characters.  In  nature,  among  gre- 
garious animals,  the  strongest  male  always  survives.     The  increase,  therefore,  is 


140 

always  from  strong  and  usually  mature  males.  On  the  other  hand,  the  females  of 
a  herd  are  all  preserved.  If  Ave  deem  that  vigor,  strength,  and  similar  constitu- 
tional characters  are  transmitted,  and  that  these  can  be  intensified  or  accumulated 
in  succeeding  generations,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  males  may  have 

acquired  by  natural  selection  alone  an  ability  to  transmit  their  characters  more 
strongly  than  the  females.  The  only  way  of  throwing  light  upon  this  question  is  by 
careful  observation  through  many  generations  and  by  reciprocal  crosses,  which  will 
eliminate  the  error  which  might  arise  from  differences  in  prepotency  due  to  pure 
breeding. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  series  of  experiments  of  recent  times,  particularly 
with  plant  breeding,  are  those  experiments  which  have  been  undertaken  to  discover 
the  truth  or  falsity  of  Mendel's  law  of  heredity.  Investigations  so  far  conducted 
with  plants  seem  to  confirm  in  most  cases  the  mathematical  law  of  transmission 
worked  out  by  Mendel.  A  few  observations  on  animals  have  also  followed  with 
some  accuracy  the  same  law.  This  law  has  been  of  the  greatest  value  to  plant 
breeders,  and  if  it  is  found  to  apply  with  equal  certainty  to  animal  breeding,  it  may 
lead  to  exceedingly  valuable  results.  It  is  important  that  its  applicability  to  animal 
breeding  should  be  tested  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  Another  law  of  transmission, 
which  is  undoubtedly  very  near  the  truth,  is  Gabon's  "law  of  ancestral  heredity." 
This  law  should  be  further  investigated  and  its  truth  or  falsity  under  varying  condi- 
tions should  be  determined. 

ONE    PLAN    OF    EXPERIMENTS. 

Many  of  the  experiments  so  far  undertaken  have  been  imperfectly  planned  and 
their  value  has  therefore  been  very  much  diminished.  In  investigating  the  many 
problems  mentioned  above,  it  is  my  opinion  that  reciprocal  crosses  with  well-estab- 
lished breeds  will  yield  the  most  valuable  results.  In  investigating  these  problems 
it  is  highly  important  that  we  should  start  with  at  least  two  breeds  of  well-established 
characters.  These  should  be  reciprocally  crossed,  they  should  be  bred  purely,  and 
they  should  be  inbred.  These  experiments  should  be  carried  on  coextensively  and  for 
a  sufficient  time  to  study  the  tendencies  resulting  from  continued  inbreeding,  and  these 
compared  with  simple  pure  breeding.  In  connection  with  these  observations  it  is 
easily  possible  to  study  the  influence  of  these  methods  of  breeding  upon  prepotency. 
It  will  also  give  us  an  opportunity  to  study  the  relative  influence  of  parents.  The 
material  secured  ought  to  furnish  us  with  the  necessary  data  for  studying  Mendel's 
law,  and  ought  to  yield  the  data  for  examining  into  the  law  of  ancestral  heredity 
proposed  by  Gallon.  These  experiments  may  be  so  planned  that  the  subject  of  tele- 
gony  may  be  one  of  the  problems  under  observation. 

The  records  of  this  experiment  should  show  the  mature  weight  in  breeding  condi- 
tion of  every  animal  in  the  experiment.  They  should  include  photographs  of  the 
pure  types  resulting  from  the  crosses.  The  birth  weights  should  be  carefully  kept 
and  studied  Accurate  measurements  of  the  extremities,  length  of  body,  heart  girth, 
size  of  skull,  and  other  important  measurements  should  be  recorded.  A  careful 
study  of  these  records  ought  to  throw  light  upon  Mendel's  law,  upon  Galton's  law  of 
ancestral  heredity,  and  on  the  effects  of  cross  breeding,  inbreeding,  and  the  relative 
influence  of  parents. 

A    STANDARD    OF    M  EASRREMEXT. 

In  the  interpretation  of  the  results  of  various  methods  of  breeding  we  are  greatly 
handicapped  by  reason  of  a  lack  of  some  standard  of  measurement.  It  has  seemed 
to  the  writer  for  a  long  time  that  a  step  of  first  importance  in  breeding  investigations 
is  to  settle  upon  some  standard  of  measurement,  Any  measurements  of  mature 
animals  are  bound  to  be  unsatisfactory  by  reason  of  variations,  which  may  be  due 
entirely  to  the  result  of  environment.  In  studying  the  effects  of  inbreeding  or  cross 
breeding,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  separate  these  from  all  other  influences 
whatsoever.  In  considering  this  question,  the  possibility  of  using  the  birth  weight 
of  animals  has  frequently  suggested  itself.  The  birth  weight,  perhaps,  comes  as  near 
being  an  accurate  measure  of  breeding  influences  as  any  other  standard  so  far  pro- 
posed. In  any  event  it  is  worthy  of  consideration,  and  it  is  important  that  we  deter- 
mine the  conditions  which  control  birth  weight. 

The  conditions  which  determine  the  birth  weight  of  animals  are  not  well  under- 
stood, and  investigators  seem  to  have  paid  little  attention  to  this  classof  facts.  Under 
certain  conditions  the  birth  weight  of  animals  seems  to  be  closely  associated  with  the 
subsequent  growth  and  development  of  the  young  animal,  and  in  general  it  may  be 
said  that  a  comparatively  heavy  birth  weight  is  desirable.     There  is  undoubtedly  a 


141 

normal  birth  weight  which  is  fairly  uniform  for  all  healthy  animals  of  a  given  size 
and  breed.     It  is  also  undoubtedly  true  that  the  birth  weight  may  be  greatly  influenced 

by  the  conditions  affecting  the  mother. 

'The  nutrition  of  the  embryo,  which  will  be  largely  dependent  upon  the  condition 
of  the  mother  during  pregnancy,  will  probably  he  a  determining  factor  in  fixing  the 
birth  weight  It  is  also  possible  that  the  condition  of  the  mother  during  the  period 
leading  up  to  the  ripening  of  the  egg  will  influence  the  nutrition  of  the  embryo,  and 
consequently  the  birth  weight  of  the  young. 

During  a  period  of  four  years  the  writer  kept  accurate  records  of  the  birth  weight 
of  lambs  from  a  small  flock  of  sheep.  These  birth  weights  were  studied  in  connection 
with  the  size  and  condition  of  the  parents,  tiie  sex  of  the  offspring,  and  other  im- 
portant conditions.  Careful  records  of  the  subsequent  growth  of  the  young  were 
also  made  and  important  differences  noted.  One  of  the  subjects  of  investigate  in  was 
the  possible  influence  of  the  increased  size  or  breed  of  the  male  upon  the  birth  weight 
of  the  young.  The  breeding  ewes  in  this  experiment  were  native  sheep  purchased 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  ^Missouri  Experiment  Station.  The  rams  represented  three 
breeds,  the  Hampshire,  Shropshire,  and  Delaine  Merino.  In  summing  up  the  results 
of  the  entire  experiment  it  was  found  that  the  average  birth  weight  of  41  half-blood 
Hampshire  Iambs  was  7.8  pounds;  of  33  half-blood  Shropshire  lambs,  8.4  pounds, 
and  of  36  half-blood  Merino  lambs,  7.7  pounds.  The  average  weight  of  the  Shrop- 
shire rams  used  in  this  investigation  was  195  pounds;  of  the  Hampshire  rams.  185 
pounds;  and  of  the  Merinos,  142  pounds.  These  weights  have  no  constant  relation 
to  the  birth  weights  of  their  offspring.  Not  only  was  this  true  in  individual  cases, 
but  it  also  seemed  to  be  true  that  males  of  the  larger  breeds  did  not  produce  young 
having  a  greater  birth  weight  than  rams  of  the  smaller  breed-. 

By  comparing  the  birth  weight  of  lambs  with  the  weight  of  the  mothers  it  was 
found  that  the  birth  weight  of  lambs  varied  directly  with  the  weight  of  mother. 
This  is  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Relation  of  weight  of  dam  to  birth  weight  of  lamb. 


Weight  of  dams. 


Below  90  pounds. 
90  to  100  pounds.. 
100  to  110  pounds 
110  to  120  pounds 
120  to  130  pounds 


Average 

Number 

birth 

of 

weight 

lambs. 

of  all 

lambs. 

Founds. 

8 

7.2 

6 

7.1 

22 

7.5 

32 

7.9 

23 

8.3 

From  this  table  it  would  seem  that  the  birth  weight  of  the  young  has  a  constant 
relation  to  the  weight  of  the  mother. 

It  may  be  well  in  this  connection  to  ask  what  significance  the  birth  weight  may 
have  in  the  development  of  the  young  animal.  To  determine  this  point,  the  records 
of  the  growth  after  birth  for  periods  of  six  to  nine  weeks  were  carefully  tabulated, 
and  these  are  indicated  in  the  subjoined  table: 


Relation  of  birth  weight  f<>  subsequent  growth 


Birth  weight  of  lamlis 


Average        Average 


10  pounds  and  above 

9  to  10  pounds 

8  to  9  pounds 

7  to  8  pounds 

Below  7  pounds 


Average 

weekly 

weeklv 

Number 

length  of 

gam.  in- 

gam,  ex- 

of lambs. 

feeding 

eluding 

cluding 

period. 

birth 

birth 

weight. 

weight. 

Weeks. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

i 

8.  55 

■VI 

4.5 

- 

6.  05 

0.0 

4.2 

14 

7.33 

3.7 

2.5 

13 

9.  03 

3.4 

2.3 

6 

7.  06 

2.62 

1.7 

This  table  shows  that  so  far  as  these  observations  extend  the  size  of  the  young  at 
birth  has  a  very  important  relation  to  the  subsequent  growth  of  the  young  animal. 
Large  birth  weights  were  in  everv  case  favorable  to  lanre  gains  and  vigorous  growth, 


142 

while  small  birth  weights  were  as  uniformly  unfavorable  to  good  gains.  If  this  fact 
should  prove  to  be  true  under  all  conditions,  then  the  birth  weight  of  animals 
becomes  an  exceedingly  important  standard  of  measurement  Any  conditions  or 
influences  which  tend  to  increase  the  birth  weight  of  animals  will  have  direct  practi- 
cal value  in  indicating  the  possibility  of  vigorous  development  and  early  maturity. 

I  have  attempted  in  this  paper  to  point  out  some  of  the  problems  of  breeding,  but 
particularly  to  indicate  possible  lines  of  experiments  which  may  yield  valuable 
results.  It  is  not  supposed  that  these  arc  the  only  feasible  lines  of  investigation  nor 
necessarily  the  best.  But  the  importance  of  the  subject  of  experiments  in  animal 
breeding  makes  it  obligatory  on  the  experiment-station  investigators  to  carry  on 
investigations  which  may  result  in  permanent  value  to  the  breeders  of  domestic 
animals. 

Soil  Fertility. 

H.  W.  Wiley,  of  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  U.  8.  Department  of  Agriculture,  spoke 

as  follows: 

Mr.  Pkesidext,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen:  For  the  vice-presidential  address  before 
the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  at  Buffalo  in  1886,  I  took 
as  a  subject  "The  Economical  Aspects  of  Agricultural  Chemistry."  The  object  of 
that  address  was  to  show  what  the  crops  of  the  United  States  took  from  the  soil  and 
what  they  owed  to  it  in  order  to  balance  the  account.  Again,  as  president  of  the 
American  Chemical  Society  in  1893,  in  an  address  on  ''The  Waste  and  Conservation 
of  Plant  Food,"  the  very  theme  was  considered  which  lias  been  discussed  here  this 
afternoon.  These  addresses  need  not  be  summarized,  as  they  are  accessible  in  the 
published  proceedings  of  the  associations  named.  In  the  opening  paragraph  of  my 
work  on  soil  analysis  it  is  stated  that  the  soil  ''consists  chiefly  of  mineral  substances, 
together  with  some  products  of  organic  life  and  of  certain  living  organisms."  It  is 
ten  years  since  that  sentence  was  written,  and  the  more  thought  I  give  to  the  ques- 
tion the  more  I  am  convinced  it  is  true  that  the  soil  is  a  living  organism  and  that 
it  deserves  the  same  consideration  at  the  hands  of  the  farmer  that  any  other  living 
creature  receives.  That  is,  if  the  soil  is  to  be  considered  not  as  a  dead  body,  but  as  a 
living  organism,  it  is  entitled  to  kindness,  fair  treatment,  and  proper  nutrition.  We 
know  well  the  principles  of  pig  feeding,  and  from  them  we  get  to  some  extent  the 
fundamental  principles  of  man  feeding.  Johnson  has  told  us  how  plants  feed  and 
how  crops  grow,  and  we  are  now  beginning  to  understand  some  of  the  principles  of 
soil  feeding.  As  our  investigations  go  on  these  principles  will  become  more  clear, 
and  we  shall  know  how  to  keep  our  soils  in  good  condition. 

In  one  of  the  addresses  referred  to  I  said  that  up  to  that  time  there  had  been  but 
little  scientific  agriculture  in  the  United  States,  and  I  believe  that  statement  to  be 
true.  This  is  a  severe  accusation  to  make  against  the  scientific  agriculturist  of  the 
country,  but  if  you  will  study  the  history  of  our  soils  and  see  how  they  have  been 
treated,  if  you  will  note  their  former  condition  and  their  present  condition  I  think 
you  will  agree  with  me. 

Why  is  it  that  the  wheat  crop  of  the  United  States  averages  only  13  bushels  per 
acre,  while  that  of  Fiance  averages  27  bushels  per  acre,  and  that  of  some  other  coun- 
tries still  higher?  Is  this  because  the  other  countries  have  better  soils  to  begin  with, 
oris  it  because  their  soils  have  better  treatment  and  the  agriculturists  take  better 
care  of  them?  The  soils  there  have  been  in  cultivation  two  thousand  years,  as  we 
know,  and  probably  a  great  deal  longer,  yet  our  soils,  so  far  as  this  leading  grain  is 
concerned,  have  been  in  cultivation — some  of  them — not  more  than  ten  or  fifteen 
years. 

There  must  be  some  reason  for  this  difference.  You  know  the  principles  of  exten- 
sive agriculture.  The  great  West,  the  central  West,  will  show  you  what  is  done  in 
this  respect.  1  have  had  some  experience  there  myself  as  a  farmer;  I  know  the 
habits  of  the  farmers.  I  have  seen  hundreds  of  stables  built  of  rails,  so  when  the 
manure  got  so  high  that  the  cattle  could  no  longer  get  into  them  the  stables  could 
be  moved.  Any  of  you  who  have  lived  in  the  West  have  seen  instances  of  that  kind. 
I  have  seen  fields  year  after  year  raked  and  scraped,  and  then  fires  built  to  get  rid  of 
the  ''trash"  on  top,  so  that  cultivation  might  he  the  more  easy.  In  this  way  the 
soil  is  robbed,  not  only  of  crops,  but  of  remnants  of  crops,  by  the  rapacious  farmer, 
and  it  is  no  wonder  that  our  soils  have  been  so  reduced  in  fertility.  They  have  the 
same  appearance  as  compared  with  a  well-cared-for  soil  that  a  starved  horse  has  in 
comparison  with  a  well-fed  one;  the  two  occupy  about  the  same  relation.  And  the 
same  principle  which,  if  followed,  will  keep  a  horse  in  good  condition  will,  if  applied 
to  a  soil,  keei)  it  in  good  condition. 


148 

My  purpose  tins  afternoon  in  making  the  few  remarks  that  I  have  to  make  is  to 
state  broadly  what  my  view  is  of  some  of  these  principles  by  means  of  which  soil 

fertility  may  be  conserved  and  increased.  In  the  first  place,  we  must  have  some  idea 
of  what  fertility  is.  My  idea  of  fertility  is  the  ability  of  a  soil  under  given  condi- 
tions to  produce  a  crop.  We  all  understand  that  a  soil  alone,  without  *he  environment 
in  which  it  lives,  can  not  produce  a  crop.  The  soil  may  he  very  good  at  the  North 
Pole,  but  the  crops  are  very  meager  because  the  other  conditions  of  the  environment 
are  not  good.  Therefore,  the  first  step  in  order  to  study  the  comparative  fertility  of 
any  soils  is  to  bring  them  under  the  same  conditions;  in  other  words,  the  environ- 
ment must  be  the  same.  But  given  the  required  environment,  that  soil  is  fertile 
which  will  produce  a  good  crop,  and  that  soil  is  infertile  which  produces  a  poor  crop. 
That  is  my  idea  of  soil  fertility — the  ability  of  the  soil  to  produce  a  crop.  I  shall 
not  now  discuss  the  factors  which  produce  this  ability. 

In  the  experiments  and  studies  made  in  this  direction  we  have  departed  some- 
what from  the  ordinary  course  of  the  two  forms  of  experiments  which  have  been 
described.  Mr.  Ewell,  one  of  my  former  assistants,  wrote  some  years  ago  an  article 
for  the  Yearbook,  in  which  he  tried  to  show  that  every  farm  should  be  an  experi- 
ment station  and  every  farmer  an  experimenter.  When  a  man  sends  to  me  a  specimen 
of  soil  and  writes,  "Please  analyze  this  soil  and  tell  me  what  crops  I  can  grow  on 
it,"  I  send  him  word,  "Ask  your  soil  itself  what  you  can  grow  on  it;  by  asking  your 
question  directly  of  the  soil,  you  can  get  a  better  answer  than  in  any  other  way.'' 

I  believe,  therefore,  that  if  we  could  obtain  some  comparative  notion  of  the  fer- 
tility of  different  soils  peculiar  to  the  United  States  when  brought  under  the  same 
conditions  we  might  throw  some  light  on  the  problems  of  soil  fertility,  its  conserva- 
tion and  increase.  So  we  have  brought  to  Washington  soils  from  a  numl>er  of  our 
States.  These  soils  were,  I  believe,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  secured  from  the 
agricultural  experiment  stations.  We  also  brought  here  from  England,  through  the 
courtesy  of  Sir  Henry  Gilbert,  some  of  the  celebrated  soils  of  Rothamsted.  After 
collecting  these  we  had  only  one  varying  element  as  affecting  comparative  soil  fer- 
tility, and  that  was  the  soil  itself.  These  soils  were  all  treated  in  exactly  the  same 
way — exposed  to  same  temperatures,  the  same  degree  of  light — receiving  the  same 
treatment  in  every  respect.  The  product  thus  obtained  was  an  accurate  measure  of 
their  fertility  under  those  conditions.  The  elementary  conditions  of  crop  culture 
have  been  already  well  described,  so  I  shall  take  no  time  in  going  over  them  now. 
We  had  considerable  trouble  in  getting  the  best  form  of  pots  in  which  to  grow 
experimental  crops.  I  made  personal  observations  of  the  various  pot  experiments 
carried  on  in  this  and  other  countries  in  order  to  learn  as  much  as  possible  from  the 
various  methods  pursued.  We  adopted  from  different  ones  those  features  which 
seemed  best  suited  to  our  purposes  and  thus  finally  obtained  a  method  of  conduct- 
ing our  experiments.  These  experiments  have  now  been  continued  for  nine  years, 
and  the  results  are  being  prepared  for  publication. 

We  fully  appreciate  what  has  been  said  here  by  previous  speakers  on  this  subject — 
that  in  order  to  have  value  such  experiments  must  be  continued  for  a  long  period  of 
time  and  with  a  systematic  purpose.  For  this  reason  some  experiments,  in  them- 
selves interesting,  have  not  the  full  value  which  attaches  to  those  which  have  been 
continued  through  a  number  of  seasons. 

I  have  here  some  photographs  of  these  pots  representing  the  crops  produced  by 
different  soils  in  the  same  year  under  the  same  conditions.  These  soils,  as  I  have 
said,  are  mostly  from  the  United  States.  Without  going  into  other  particulars,  I 
may  say  that  there  is  shown  a  difference  in  the  appearance  of  the  same  crops  on  dif- 
ferent soils,  but  with  absolutely  the  same  environment.  A  mere  glance  shows  that 
the  relative  fertility  of  these  soils  differs  very  widely.  Here  [indicating]  we  find  the 
yield  almost  nothing,  there  we  find  a  very  rich  crop,  and  between  these  extremes 
there  exists  every  grade  of  yield. 

In  tins  way  we  put  the  direct  question  to  the  soil,  "Are  you  a  fertile  soil?  We 
give  you  the  conditions  under  which  you  can  show  what  you  are."  This  is  the 
answer  which  these  soils  have  given.  These  results  show  that  the  soils  themselves 
have  inherently  different  fertilizing  principles;  that  they  are  different  in  their  charac- 
teristics, and  in  most  cases  have  different  crop-producing  capacities. 

Now,  there  is  another  question  which  we  ask  of  these  soils — "How  rapidly  under 
these  conditions  do  you  lose  your  fertility? ' '  Here  are  a  few  photographs  illustrating 
the  answers  which  the  soils  give  to  this  question.  We  have  hundreds  of  these  photo- 
graphs; I  have  simply  picked  out  a  few.  Here  are  answers  to  that  question  running 
over  a  term  of  four  years,  showing  the  results  in  the  case  of  the  same  soil,  the  same 
crop,  and  the  same  conditions  at  different  seasons.  These  soils  had  not  previously 
been  under  cultivation.  There  [indicating]  you  see  a  diminishing  fertility;  but  the 
diminution  is  mostly  in  the  first  year  in  this  particular  experiment.     As  you  see,  the 


144 

soil  does  not  have  the  same  ability  to  produce  year  after  year.  One  of  these  experi- 
ments was  accidental,  but  the  result  is  of  great  interest,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  pardon 
me  for  mentioning  it.  We  were  troubled  with  certain  fungi  in  these  soils.  We  did 
not  want  to  apply  fungicides  for  fear  it  might  change  the  character  of  the  soil,  which 
should  remain  constant,  so  the  soils  were  sterilized.  All  the  soils  of  one  pot  were 
placed  in  a  pan,  covered  with  another  pan,  and  exposed  for  several  successive  days 
to  the  temperature  of  steam,  even  above  the  temperature  of  boiling  water.  In  this 
way  beyond  doubt  all  the  fungi  were  killed  and  also  all  the  bacteria,  so  that  when  the 
experiment  was  started  again  we  had  to  resort  to  inoculation.  But,  much  to  our 
surprise,  the  soils  were  restored  almost  to  their  former  condition  of  fertility  after 
being  sterilized,  nothing  else  having  been  done,  which  seems  to  show  that  a  high 
temperature  has  the  power  of  unlocking  additional  sources  of  plant  food.  And  this  is 
demonstrated  in  every  one  of  the  thirty-seven  and  more  soils  with  which  these 
experiments  were  made.  This  shows  that  if  there  were  a  way  of  sterilizing  the  soils 
and  then  reinoculating  them,  we  could  restore  fertility  for  a  certain  length  of  time  by 
unlocking  these  additional  plant  foods.  This  experiment  was  made  in  1900.  We 
find  also  a  diminution  of  the  crop  again  the  succeeding  year.  The  increased  solu- 
bility of  the  plant  foods  was  determined  immediately  by  chemical  analysis  of  the 
ordinary  fertilizing  ingredients,  and  it  was  shown  that  certain  of  these  were  con- 
siderably more  soluble  in  our  ordinary  reagents  than  before,  which  proved  the  fact 
that  these  were  unlocked. 

Of  course,  we  understand  perfectly  well  that  this  process  could  not  go  on  indefi- 
nitely. No  matter  how  large  your  bank  account  may  be,  if  you  check  against  it 
again  and  again  and  again  it  will  gradually  grow  smaller,  until  at  last  your  deposit  is 
exhausted.  The  same  is  true  of  the  soil.  You  may  draw  upon  it  every  year,  but 
finally  there  will  be  nothing  left  and  your  check  will  be  dishonored. 

I  will  not  detain  you  by  going  into  the  details  of  these  experiments,  but  will  pass 
over  the  results  rapidly.  The  chemists,  as  you  know,  have  been  trying  for  years  to 
find  some  way  to  gauge  the  fertility  of  the  soil  by  chemical  analysis.  We  know  how 
to  determine  the  total  amount  of  the  constituents  of  a  soil.  That  process  is  easy  and 
accurate.  But  how  can  we  determine  (if  it  is  possible  to  do  so)  by  chemical  analysis 
what  portion  of  the  fertilizing  constituents  of  the  soil  the  plant  takes  out  of  the  soil 
during  its  growth?  Every  agricultural  chemist  here  present  understands,  without 
any  explanation,  the  immense  difficulty  of  such  a  problem,  because  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  is  the  sum  of  a  number  of  conditions.  You  may  say  of  a  soil  that  it  is  as 
infertile  as  its  weakest  constituent,  no  matter  how  abundant  the  other  constituents 
may  be.  You  may  have  a  soil  abundantly  supplied  with  a  certain  number  of  fertil- 
izing ingredients — nature  is  usually  extravagant;  she  makes  a  thousand  seeds  for 
one  complete  plant,  and  she  furnishes  to  the  soil  a  hundred  times  more  plant  food 
than  the  crop  takes  out  of  it  in  any  one  season;  she  is  extremely  extravagant  in  her 
supplies,  is  not  a  very  good  housewife  in  many  respects — but,  I  say,  that  if  a  single 
essential  ingredient  is  absent,  I  do  not  care  what  it  is,  you  can  produce  no  crop  at 
all.  Suppose  a  crop  takes  out  of  the  soil  100  pounds  of  potash  per  acre.  You  might 
devise  a  method  which,  when  applied  to  the  soil,  would  extract  100  pounds  of  pot- 
ash, so  as  to  meet  exactly  the  requirements  of  the  crop;  but  that  method,  if  applied, 
might  not  extract  the  correct  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  or  of  nitrogen.  That  is  to 
say,  every  one  of  the  elements  of  plant  food  must  have  a  method  of  its  own,  When 
the  crop  is  changed  you  must  change  the  method,  because  each  crop  acts  differently 
toward  the  elements  of  plant  food  in  the  soil. 

Nitrogen  presents  a  more  complicated  problem,  because  a  plant  uses  it  only  in  one 
form;  no  matter  how  much  nitrogen  you  may  give  the  plant  in  another  form  it  will 
not  eat  it.  You  may  feed  a  growing  green  plant  with  all  the  free  nitrogen  you  please 
and  with  all  theammoniathe  soil  will  hold,  and  the  plant  will  not  take  a  single  molecule 
of  them.  The  nitrogen  must  be  in  the  form  of  nitric  acid  before  the  crop  can  eat  it. 
Hence  the  available  nitrogen  in  a  soil  is  not  by  any  means  determined  by  an  analysis 
which  determines  nitrogen  in  the  various  forms  in  which  it  exists.  The  only  nitrogen 
in  the  soil  that  the  green  plant  can  eat  at  any  time  is  that  which  exists  as  nitric  acid. 

Nitric  acid  and  nitrates  are  the  most  soluble  of  all  the  plant  foods,  and  they  are 
the  only  plant  foods  which  the  soil  has  no  power  to  hold  back  when  a  solvent  is 
placed  on  the  soil.  There  is  no  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  soil  to  hold  nitric  acid 
when  water  is  thrown  upon  it,  while  there  is  a  tendency  to  hold  other  fertilizing 
elements.  Hence  nitric  acid  is  the  most  evanescent  as  well  as  the  most  important  in 
point  of  cost  of  all  the  plant  foods.  Now,  the  total  amount  of  nitrogen  which  is 
available  at  any  time  in  a  soil  is  the  amount  which  happens  to  be  nitrified,  and 
which  is  not  washed  out  nor  appropriated  for  other  purposes. 

Hence  you  may  find  the  means  of  measuring  the  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  which 
a  plant  will  takeout  in  an  ordinary  crop;  you  may  find  methods  of  determining  how 
much  lime  a  plant  will  take  out  of  the  soil  in  a  certain  crop;  you  may  find  out  how 


145 

much  potash  a  given  crop  will  take  out;  but  this  will  nut  give  you  any  idea  of  how- 
much  nitrogen  that  crop  will  take  out.  We  have  been  somewhat  successful  in 
measuring  by  chemical  methods  the  amount  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  which  a 
given  crop  will  take  from  the  soil.  Chemists  have  tried  various  experiments  and 
have  obtained  from  them  interesting  data,  but  none  of  these  experiments  will  give 
an  entirely  satisfactory  answer  to  the  nitrogen  problem.  However,  from  experi- 
ments with  soils  taken  from  various  parts  of  the  United  States  we  obtained  some 
reasonable  idea  as  to  how  much  nitrogen  the  soil  will  yield.  These  results  assume,  of 
course,  that  these  soils  furnished  a  reasonable  amount  of  other  plant  foods;  other- 
wise there  would  have  been  no  crop  at  all. 

Another  thing  that  we  observe  is  this:  Economy  of  production,  as  far  as  plant  food 
is  concerned,  is  attained  always  with  a  maximum  crop — that  is  to  say,  a  small  crop 
takes  a  larger  percentage  of  plant  food  from  the  soil  in  proportion  to  the  organic 
matter  than  does  a  large  crop.  All  our  data  go  to  prove  that  the  farmer,  if  he  seeks 
economical  results,  will  produce  a  maximum  crop,  because  for  such  a  crop  a  propor- 
tionately less  quantity  of  plant  food  is  required.  That  is  another  point  most  defi- 
nitely brought  out  in  these  researches  of  ours  into  the  elements  of  soil  fertility. 

In  our  analytical  work  on  the  availability  of  plant  food  we  use  the  methods  of  the 
Association  of  Official  Agricultural  Chemists,  but  in  making  the  solutions  we  do  not 
always  use  the  official  methods,  because  they  are  designed  only  for  particular  cases. 
Our  solutions  for  this  special  investigation  were  made  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid, 
using  a  large  quantity  of  soil  and  a  large  excess  of  reagents,  but  the  same  for  each 
soil.  These  are  placed  in  a  revolving  apparatus  where  the  contents  are  kept  mixed 
all  the  time  and  the  temperature  is  constant. 

We  must  not  forget  that  temperature  is  an  important  function  in  solubility  of  all 
kinds — sometimes  increasing  it,  sometimes  diminishing  it;  therefore,  in  experiments 
to  determine  comparative  solubility,  the  temperature  must  always  be  constant.  All 
our  experiments  to  determine  solubility  were  made  at  what  we  considered  an  average 
temperature  for  summer,  when  the  upper  layers  of  the  soil  have  probably  a  tempera- 
ture of  40°.  Of  course,  the  temperature  may  be  much  higher  in  some  localities  and 
lower  in  others,  but  in  general  when  the  soil  is  exposed  to  the  full  sunlight  the  tem- 
perature of  the  surface  would  be  about  40°. 

In  conducting  these  investigations  a  number  of  men  in  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture — Mr.  Ewell,  Air.  Moore,  and  others — collaborated.  Mr. 
Ewell  was  particularly  concerned  in  the  investigation  of  the  power  of  the  soil  to 
induce  nitrification.  We  all  understand  that  organic  nitrogen  is  available  only  as  the 
nitrifying  organism  prepares  the  food  for  the  use  of  the  plant.  We  must  cook  for  the 
plant  and  prepare  its  food  the  same  as  for  any  other  living  being,  and  the  nitrogen 
must  be  prepared  especially  for  the  use  of  the  plant.  The  following  experiments  and 
methods  were  employed  for  this  purpose: 

Samples  of  soils  were  taken  from  different  localities  and  kept  in  sterilized  tubes 
in  such  a  way  that  no  organism  could  be  introduced  into  them  from  the  time  they 
were  taken  until  the  experimental  work  had  begun.  These  were  sent  to  the  labora- 
tory and  the  nitrifying  power  of  the  soil  was  studied  systematically  in  each  case.  In 
these  experiments  we  used  simply  an  ammonia  salt — not  wishing  to  study  particu- 
larly the  organism  which  produces  ammonia,  but  rather  that  element  in  the  soil 
which  produces  nitric  acid  from  ammonia.  Carefully  protected  ammoniacal  mate- 
rial, to  which  no  additional  organism  had  been  added,  was  used,  and  the  material 
was  then  subjected  to  the  ordinary  processes  of  nitrification,  with  the  results  displayed 
upon  these  charts. 

The  nitrous  organism  must  begin  its  work  before  the  nitric  organism  can  act.  At 
first  the  nitric  organism  is  usually  a  little  behind,  but  it  soon  overtakes  its  colaborer, 
so  that  after  a  few  weeks  the  nitrous  acid  completely  disappears.  The  work  of  the 
nitrous  organism  is  overcome  by  the  more  vigorous  action  of  the  nitric  ferment. 

In  our  experiments  it  was  found  that  in  nearly  all  the  cases  the  lack  of  nitrifica- 
tion was  not  so  much  due  to  the  absence  of  organisms  as  to  the  lack  of  a  nitrifiable 
base.  By  the  addition  of  lime  to  a  soil  which  had  a  weak  nitrifying  power  the  latter 
was  greatly  increased.  This  shows  the  importance,  especially  in  clover  growth,  of 
having  some  substance  present  in  the  soil,  like  lime,  which  will  neutralize  the  nitric 
acid  formed,  and  prevent  it  from  exercising  any  toxic  effect  on  the  plant;  for, 
strange  to  say,  some  of  these  plant  foods  do  exercise  a  toxic  effect  on  plants  if  allowed 
to  accumulate,  and  acids,  of  which  nitric  acid  is  one,  are  illustrations  of  that  fact. 
Thus  the  application  of  lime  to  a  soil  not  only  modifies  the  physical  conditions,  but 
also  favors  the  development  of  nitrifying  organisms.  The  result  of  these  experi- 
ments is  to  demonstrate  that  in  order  to  conserve  the  fertility  of  the  soil  the  nitrify- 
ing organism  must  be  cared  for  and  must  have  something  to  work  upon.  The  nitro- 
gen in  the  soil  in  organic  matter  is  useless  unless  it  is  converted  into  nitric  acid. 

21736— No.  142—04 10 


146 

( >f  coarse,  it  goes  without  Baying  that  no  matter  how  well  you  care  for  a  soil,  how 
carefully  you  rotate  your  crops,  how  much  care  you  take  to  grow  leguminous  crops 
to  increase  your  stores  of  nitrogen,  or  how  much  these  stores  may  help  to  loosen 
other  locked-up  mineral  foods,  there  will  come  a  time  when  you  must  feed  to  the 
soil,  however  rich,  something  to  take  the  place  of  that  which  is  taken  away.  The 
aim  of  the  practical  fanner  is  to  return  to  the  soil  just  as  much  as  possible  of  what  he 
takes  out,  and  even  a  little  more. 

Thus  the  farmer  himself  has  a  duty  to  perform.  No  matter  what  we  may  do  we 
must  look  forward  to  the  time  when  the  soil  must  be  fed.  We  owe  a  debt  to  poster- 
ity. We  have  no  right  to  take  from  posterity  the  means  of  subsistence.  The  agri- 
culturist of  to-day  who  does  his  duty  to  his  farm  must  pass  it  to  his  successor  in  a 
more  fertile  condition  than  that  in  which  he  receives  it.  The  man  who  does  not  do 
this  robs  posterity;  and  it  is  just  as  much  a  crime  to  roh  future  generations  as  it  is  to 
rob  those  who  are  living  on  the  earth  to-day.  Therefore,  in  agriculture  we  have  a 
moral  duty  to  perform  which  we  should  not  forget;  and  that  is,  the  duty  which  we 
owe  to  those  who  are  to  come  after  us.  Let  us,  then,  as  agricultural  chemists  and 
practical  agriculturists,  see  to  it  that  the  fields  which  we  till  shall  be,  when  they  pass 
from  our  hands,  better  producers  than  when  we  received  them. 

The  address  of  Doctor  Wiley  was  discussed  by  C.  G.  Hopkins,  B.  W.  Kilgore,  and 
others. 

The  following  paper,  prepared  by  ('.  S.  Plumb,  of  Ohio,  was,  in  the  absence  of  the 
author,  read  by  title  and  ordered  printed: 

Methods  of  Investigation  Relating  to  the  Breeding  of  Animals.  a 

There  are  no  fixed  methods  of  investigation  relative  to  the  breeding  of  animals. 
While  most  of  our  present  breeds  of  live  stock  have  been  improved  through  the 
intelligent  action  of  the  mind  of  roan,  there  has  been  comparatively  little  method 
in  the  work.  Great  breeders  have  lived  and  have  brought  animals  up  to  a  high  stage 
of  development,  but  their  methods  have  been  rather  general  than  specific  and  that  of 
the  practical  man  rather  than  the  scientist,  An  immense  amount  of  literature  has 
been  published  on  the  subject  of  feeding  and  men  have  written  much  on  their  methods 
of  feeding,  but  not  so  concerning  breeding.  The  live-stock  journals  of  to-day  print 
articles  on  feeding  in  great  number,  with  but  few  contributions  on  breeding  that 
bring  out  new  ideas.  Reports  on  feeding  experiments  emanate  from  our  experiment 
stations  with  frequency,  while  those  on  breeding  animals  are  among  the  things  to  be. 
As  I  have  remarked  elsewhere,  h  there  are  men  in  the  service  of  some  of  our  experi- 
ment stations  who  have  made  themselves  famous  as  investigators  and  authorities  on 
feeding,  but  no  one  as  yet  has  brought  fame  to  himself  for  his  discoveries  in  this 
special  field  of  breeding. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  might  be  fairly  assumed  that  no  very  extensive 
methods  of  investigation  have  as  yet-been  developed,  so  far  as  breeding  animals  goes. 
There  are  a  few  isolated  cases  in  which  practical  breeders  have  with  much  care  and 
persistence  worked  at  problems  of  breeding,  and  have  secured  most  interesting  and 
valuable  results.  Examples  occur  where  the  people  of  a  region  have  united  to 
improve  a  breed  or  type  and  have  accomplished  their  object.  Instances  have  also 
occurred  in  continental  Europe  where  the  state  has  promoted  the  development  of  a 
breed  or  class  of  stock,  while  there  are  several  instances  of  men  more  or  less  scientific 
working  on  problems  of  breeding  worthy  our  attention. 

In  order  to  throw  as  much  light  as  possible  on  the  methods  used  by  some  of  the 
intelligent  bleeders  of  the  past  I  now  propose  to  direct  your  attention  to  a  number 
of  examples,  a  consideration  of  which  I  am  sure  will  be  of  benefit  to  all  persons 
interested  in  improved  live  stock  and  the  problems  of  the  breeder  of  animals. 

It  is  very  likely  that  in  early  times  considerable  intelligence  was  displayed  in  the 
breeding  of  certain  animals,  of  which  the  Arabian  horse  may  serve  as  an  illustration. 
It  is  improbable,  however,  that  there  was  much  live  stock  of  an  improved  type 
prior  to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Early  writings  do  not  indicate,  it, 
and  ( 'ulley.  the  firsl  British  author  of  a  work  exclusively  on  live  stock,  ''  in  describ- 
ing the  breeds  of  farm  animals  in  Great  Britain,  mentions  but  few  compared  with 
the  considerable  number  of  to-day.     Culley  was  a  prominent  breeder  at  that  time, 

a  One  of  a  series  of  unpublished  lectures  delivered  before  the  Summer  Graduate 

School  of  Agriculture  at  the  Ohio  Stale  University  in  July,  1902. 

h  Lecture  on  breeding  farm  animals  before  the  Kansas  State  Board  of  Agriculture, 
January  IS,   L902. 

■  Observations  on  Livestock,  1789. 


147 

yet  his  writings  would  indicate  that  the  stock  of  that  time  must  have  1  ** -i - 1 1  quite 
inferior  to  that  of  to-day. 

In  these  early  days,  however,  a  man  appeared  in  the  live-stock  field  who  reached 
the  zenith  of  fame  in  his  time,  and  who  has  since  frequently  been  referred  to  as  "the 

father  of  modern  live-stock  husbandry."  This  was  Robert  Bakewell,  a  man  of  remark- 
able character,  and,  as  I  have  often  thought,  the  greatest  student  of  breeding  farm 
animals  that  this  world  has  ever  seen.  Bakewell  was  horn  in  1726,  in  the  county 
of  Leicester,  England,  and  his  work  asa  great  breeder  became  especially  notable  sub- 
sequent to  1750.  Undoubtedly  he  was  a  wonderful  investigator  of  animal  breeding. 
AVhile  he  left  little  in  the  form  of  records  for  the  use  of  those  who  were  to  follow 
him,  and  by  some  authors  was  regarded  as  secretive,  the  fact  is  that  he  was  visited 
by  Arthur  Young  and  others  interested  in  improved  live  stock  and  did  not  hesitate 
to  discuss  his  methods  with  them.  Not  only  did  Young  make  two  memorable  visits 
at  his  home,  but  Bakewell  wrote  several  articles  for  the  Annals  of  Agriculture,  then 
being  published  by  Young. 

Bakewell  realized  that  the  farm  animals  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home  were  unprofit- 
able as  feeders  and  of  inferior  quality,  and  he  began  a  systematic  and  extended 
effort  to  improve  them.  Young  states  that,  "the  leading  idea,  then,  which  has  gov- 
erned all  his  exertions,  is  to  procure  that  breed  which,  with  a  given  food,  will  give 
the  most  profitable  meat,  that  in  which  the  proportion  of  useful  meat  to  the  quantity 
of  offal  is  the  greatest;  also,  in  which  the  proportion  of  the  best  to  the  inferior  joints 
is  likewise  the  greatest." 

Bakewell  for  years  carried  on  experiments  such  as  perhaps  have  not  been  attempted 
by  any  other  breeder  in  history.  He  secured  specimens  of  different  breeds  of  sheep, 
studied  their  qualities,  and  experimented  with  them.  He  undertook  the  systematic 
improvement  of  the  native  sheep  of  Leicestershire  and  perhaps  Lincolnshire,  until 
from  them  he  developed  what  was  long  known  as  Bakewell' s  or  the  Dish  ley  sheep, 
and  later  the  improved  Leicester.  So  intensely  did  he  study  the  quality  of  the  indi- 
viduals, that  he  slaughtered  and  preserved  in  pickle  specimens  of  the  parts  of 
different  animals  for  study.  He  kept  specimens  of  bones,  flesh,  etc.,  of  some  of  his 
most  famous  animals,  to  use  for  comparison.  One  of  his  most  celebrated  Longhorn 
cows  was  known  as  "Old  Cornely."  Some  parts  of  her,  says  Houseman,"  were  seen 
in  pickle  at  Dishley,  years  after  her  death,  among  Mr.  Bakewell's  relics  of  his  most 
remarkable  animals,  and  it  is  recorded  that  the  fat  on  her  sirloin  was  4  inches  thick. 
Young  also  writes  in  the  Annals  in  1786,  "He  has  also  a  piece  of  rump  of  beef  that 
has  been  in  pickle  a  year  and  three-quarters,  4  inches  thick  of  fat."  In  comparing 
the  Southdown  with  the  coarser  Norfolk  breed,  Mr.  Bakewell  shows,  says  Young, 
that  the  latter  is  much  inferior,  "the  former  having  flatter  backs,  more  spreading, 
rounded  carcasses,  a  much  greater  disposition  to  fatten,  points  infallibly  attending 
(in  a  well-made  animal)  the  deficiency  of  tallow  within  and  less  offal.  By  which 
term  is  to  be  understood,  not  only  the  skin,  tallow,  head,  and  pluck,  but  the  horns, 
hoofs,  and  bones  of  every  joint.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  last  are  very  small  in 
those  breeds  that  have  a  true  disposition  to  fatten.  They  are  much  less  in  the  South- 
downs  than  in  the  Xorfolks.  Mr.  Bakewell,  when  last  in  that  county,  ate  a  neck  of 
mutton  at  an  inn,  which  afforded  him  a  bone  which  he  considered  as  a  curiosity 
and  kept  it.  It  was  full  twice  the  size  of  that  of  one  of  his  own  sheep,  which  had  4 
inches  of  fat  on  it.  This  bone,  he  found  on  inquiry,  to  have  come  from  a  true  Nor- 
folk sheep."  Going  still  further,  Young  says,  "Good  as  the  Southdowns  are,  on 
comparison  with  the  Xorfolks,  Mr.  Bakewell's  own  breed  far  exceeds  them;  their 
form  is  truer,  their  backs  much  flatter,  their  carcasses  heavier  in  proportion;  and 
they  have  so  much  a  greater  disposition  to  fatten  beyond  all  other  sheep  as  to  make 
a  parallel  absurd.  He  has  the  part  of  a  neck  of  mutton  in  pickle,  which  at  present 
is  4^  inches  thick  with  fat  on  the  bone."  Says  Houseman,  "Skeleton  and  pickled 
joints  of  specimens  of  the  best  of  the  Dishley  sheep  and  cattle  formed  a  little  museum 
at  the  Grange,  for  the  comparison  of  one  generation  with  another,  ancestor  with 
their  descendants.  The  fineness  of  bone,  size  and  shape  of  frame,  thickness  of  layers 
of  muscle,  and  amount  and  character  of  inner  and  outer  fat  could  be  studied.  Such 
examination  must  have  served  a  valuable  purpose." 

Undoubtedly  Bakewell  early  comprehended  the  significance  of  the  great  law  that 
"like  produces  like."  He  practiced  a  wise  selection  in  his  breeding  work  and 
mated  his  animals  to  secure:  (a)  Utility  of  form;  (b)  quality  of  flesh,  and  (c)  pro- 
pensity to  fatten. 

His  "method  of  selection  resulted  in  introducing  in-and-in  breeding,  which  he 
practiced  in  his  herd  for  twenty  consecutive  years.  He  did  not,  however,  arrive  at 
this  practice  without  what  to  him  were  the  necessary  preliminaries,  and  many  years 

"Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.  England,  1894,  pt.  1,  p.  25. 


148 

of  his  Life  were  ones  of  considerable  experimentation  in  the  introduction  of  various 
lines  of  blood  and  types  of  animals  into  his  herd  for  study.     Numerous  stories  are 

told  of  Ins  crosses,  and  visitors  to  Dishley  saw  about  his  stahles  several  breeds  and 
crosses  <»f  sheep.  Young  says  that  in  his  1785  visit  he  saw  "ten  different  sorts  of 
rains,  none  of  the  Dishley  breed,  tied  up  in  separate  stalls,  and  each  had  his  food 
weighed  out  to  him  in  order  to  try  which  sort  of  sheep  has  the  greatest  stomach." 

That  about  Bakewell  which  makes  it  appropriate  to  give  him  so  much  attention 
lies  in  the  fact  that  he  was  a  true  experimenter  in  the  breeding  of  animals.  He 
comprehended  some  principles,  although  he  gave  no  definitions.  There  was  a  method 
in  his  investigation.  He  learned  experimentally  that,  within  reasonable  limits,  like 
produces  like.  He  sought  alien  blood  as  a  means  of  introducing  desirable  improve- 
ment in  his  herd,  and  he  bred  in-and-in  to  retain  valuable  qualities,  until  he  learned 
of  its  dangers.  I  know  of  no  other  breeder  in  history  who  has  preserved  for  study 
parts  of  the  anatomy  of  animals  of  his  own  breeding  to  serve  as  a  guide  in  making 
future  improvement.     Surely  Bakewell  was  a  wonderful  man! 

Most  of  the  improved  breeds  of  to-day  have  been  developed  through  a  combination 
of  two  practices,  viz,  selection  and  crossbreeding.  In  the  various  counties  or  districts 
of  England  and  Scotland  men  early  came  to  recognize  certain  types  of  farm  animals 
as  having  a  peculiar  value  and  adaptability  to  those  localities.  As  a  knowledge  of 
methods  of  improvement  became  known  men  took  up  the  work,  and  selection  and 
crossbreeding  became  responsible  for  much  of  the  now  existing  breeds. 

Following  after  Bakewell's  time,  I  now  wish  to  direct  attention  to  a  number  of 
interesting  lines  of  experimental  investigation,  relating  to  some  phase  and  method  of 
animal  breeding.  There  is  not  a  great  deal  of  such  work  available  to  the  student, 
and  even  then  but  comparatively  little  consideration  is  given  to  the  methods  used. 
These  experiments,  however,  do  give  us  something  of  an  insight  into  the  methods 
used  and  teach  us  in  a  measure  how,  through  the  persistent  use  of  methods  based  on 
principles,  we  very  naturally  expect  to  secure  certain  results. 

In  1783  Louis  XVI  of  France  purchased  at  Rambouillet,  about  25  miles  from 
Paris,  an  estate  of  considerable  size.  As  the  Spaniards  were  at  this  time  leading 
producers  of  fine  wool,  it  was  feared  that  they  would  increase  their  factories  and  pro- 
hibit wool  exportation  and  would  thus  injure  the  wool  interests  of  France.  Conse- 
quently the  French  sought  to  improve  the  wool  situation  for  France,  and  Trudaine, 
a  French  minister,  studied  this  problem  from  1766  to  1776.  On  the  purchase  of 
Rambouillet  the  King  began  to  stock  it  with  choice  animals  and,  at  the  suggestion 
of  the  superintendent  of  the  estate  and  others  high  in  authority,  the  King  of  Spain 
was  asked  for  permission  to  allow  the  purchase  of  a  flock  of  sheep  from  Spain  for 
Rambouillet.  This  was  granted,  and  on  June  15,  1786,  a  flock  was  selected  by 
Professor  Gilbert  about  Segovia  and  shipped  to  France  in  charge  of  Spanish  shep- 
herds. This  consisted  of  383  head,  of  which  334  were  ewres,  and  were  selected  among 
various  races.  In  1801  another  importation  was  made,  but  the  first  flock  was 
regarded  as  composed  of  the  best  sheep. 

That  which  principally  interests  us  in  this  matter  is  that  this  movement  inaugu- 
rated by  France  led  to  a  systematic  line  of  experimental  breeding  at  Rambouillet, 
which  has  continued  without  intermission  up  to  the  present  day.  The  purity  of  the 
flock  has  always  been  maintained,  we  are  told,  as  the  administration  especially 
desired  to  preserve  this  quality.  The  fold  was  kept  under  the  supervision  of  a  direc- 
tor, and  careful  records  have  always  been  made  of  the  development  from  year  to 
year.  It  was  sought  to  produce  sheep  of  greater  size  than  the  Spanish  stock,  to 
secure  a  heavier  fleece  of  finer  staple.  Vigor  of  constitution  was  also  sought  for. 
In  order  to  follow  up  this  work  intelligently,  records  have  been  kept  almost  from 
the  beginning.  These  involve  measurements  of  body  and  fleece,  weights  of  sheep 
and  wool,  general  descriptions,  and  records  of  fecundity.  A  smooth-bodied  type  of 
merino  was  adopted  and  the  matings  were  conducted  toward  a  certain  end.  Along 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  Government  experi- 
mented somewhat  in  the  use  of  English  races  to  improve  the  form  and  mutton. 
This  movement  to  produce  a  sheep  more  for  mutton  than  wool,  it  is  said,  was  proba- 
bly not  satisfactory.  In  a  discussion  of  the  Rambouillet  sheep,  M.  L.  Bernardin, 
director  of  the  national  sheep  farm  of  France,  in  1881  writes:'*  "The  fold  of  Ram- 
bouillet can  show  by  record  and  statistics  that  t lie  managers  have  produced  a  type 
of  sheep  which  they  sought  to  produce  from  the  start;  that  the  race  of  slice])  has 
been  kept  pure  for  a  century,  and  everyone  applauds  at  sight  the  incomparable 
perfection  attained  at  Rambouillet;  that  the  modes  of  feeding,  different  regimen, 
methods  of  breeding,  improvement  by  selection,  care,  and  good  management  by 
shepherds  have  produced  a  sheep  of    early   development    for  consumption,  rapid 


"American  Rambouillet  Record,  Vol.  I,  1891,  p 


149 

growth  to  maturity,  and  showing  a  gain  by  average  from  120  pounds  for  jams  and 
75  to  80  pounds  for  ewes  in  1800,  to  200  to  250  pounds  for  rams  and  120  to  L50  pounds 
for  ewea  in  1880;  that  tin'  weight  of  fleece  of  rams  has  increased  from  10  pounds  in 
1800  to  16  to  20  pounds  in  1881),  and  ewes  from  5.]  pounds  in  L800  to  10  pounds  in  1880, 
with  length  of  staple  increased  from  2  inches  in  1800  to  'A  and  .'!.]  inches  in  1880;  that 
the  fineness  of  fiber  and  crimp  of  the  wool  have  reached  the  highest  degree  of  per- 
fection, and  that  for  length,  strength,  and  elasticity  it  has  no  equal;  that  a  density 
of  hulk  and  fleece  has  been  attained  which  does  not  exist  in  any  other  race  of  sheep; 
that  the  wethers  and  lambs  are  noted  for  their  rapid  and  steady  growth  to  maturity, 
their  aptitude  to  fatten,  and  the  excellent  quality  of  mutton,  and  that  other  merinos 
are  not  of  the  same  value  and  title  as  those  of  Rambouillet,  either  regarding  the 
production  or  the  qualities  of  wool  and  meat." 

This  work  at  Rambouillet  represents,  in  the  main,  the  application  of  the  principle 
of  selection  to  secure  a  result  desired  by  the  experimenters.  It  is  a  good  example  of 
a  persistent  application  of  the  motto  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  to  "Practice 
with  science."  Baron  von  Homeyer,  of  Pomerania,  Prussia,  took  up  this  same  breed 
and  improved  it  by  selection  to  develop  a  somewhat  larger  and  still  heavier-fleeced 
sheep  than  did  the  French.  Von  Homeyer  was  one  thoroughly  imbued  with  the 
scientific  spirit,  and  on  his  great  estate  he  kept  very  thorough  records  and  bred  with 
much  intelligence.  He  gave  much  careful  attention  to  the  breeding  of  his  sheep,  and 
occupied  the  entire  time  of  one  of  his  employees  in  studying  and  working  on  pedi- 
grees. Certainly  the  Rambouillet  represents  a  breed  that  has  come  to  its  present 
high  development  through  a  more  systematic  and  longer  continued  and  more  care- 
ful investigation  relating  to  the  known  principles  of  breeding  than  is  the  case  with 
any  of  our  other  breeds  of  farm  stock.  Probably  more  connected  records  of  obser- 
vation are  available  at  the  Rambouillet  fold  than  could  possibly  be  obtained  else- 
where in  the  world. 

Still  another  investigation  in  breeding  sheep  in  France  is  worthy  our  attention  in 
view  of  the  character  of  the  problem  worked  on.  This  relates  to  the  method  adopted 
by  Malingie-Nouel,  director  of  the  agricultural  school  at  Charmois,  in  producing  a 
new  breed,  as  given  by  Mr.  Pusey." 

With  the  falling  off  in  the  price  of  wool  in  France  came  a  demand  for  less  Merino 
blood  and  better  mutton.  The  French  stock  consisted  of  pure  breds  and  mongrels, 
the  latter  with  more  or  less  Merino  blood.  It  was  thought  that  if  pure-bred  English 
rams  were  bred  to  French  ewes,  including  Merino  mongrels,  that  good  results  from 
the  mutton  point  would  ensue.  It  was  found  that  the  lambs  from  this  cross  resem- 
bled the  mother  more  than  the  father,  though  a  few  resembled  both  parents.  When 
the  ewes  of  the  latter  type  were  bred  to  English  rams  the  offspring  resembled  the 
sire  more  than  the  dam,  both  in  shape  and  features,  with  a  fleece  of  English  char- 
acter. No  sooner  are  the  lambs  of  this  mating  weaned,  however,  than  they  begin 
to  fail  in  vitality  and  become  inferior  and  stunted  with  the  heat  of  the  French  sum- 
mer. They  appear  like  unacclimated  foreigners,  lacking  the  vigor  of  the  native  French 
breeds.  Experiments  carried  over  several  generations  seemed  to  demonstrate  that 
English  breeds  of  sheep  required  the  peculiar  conditions  of  Great  Britain  to  maintain 
their  character.  Leicester,  New  Kent,  and  Southdown  rams  were  used  in  this  experi- 
ment. It  was  found  that  the  foreign  influence  was  most  marked  in  those  crosses  from 
English  sires  of  greatest  purity  of  race,  as  Southdown. 

Where  a  Leicester  ram,  a  mixed  New  Kent,  or  impure  Southdown  was  used  on  pure 
French  ewes,  very  little  English  character  was  seen  in  the  offspring.  Very  little 
difference  in  fact,  it  is  said,  oftentimes  happens  between  lambs  that  are  Leicester- 
Merino,  Kent-Merino,  or  Southdown-Merino,  and  another  lamb  of  the  same  age  that 
is  pure  Merino.  Such  lambs,  however,  have  no  trouble  with  climatic  conditions. 
If  now,  these  same  ewes  wTere  bred  to  very  pure  Southdown  or  New-Kent  rams,  the 
English  character  became  more  marked  in  the  offspring.  Where  the  offspring  from 
each  of  these  crosses  is  raised,  the  lambs  in  which  the  English  blood  does  not  exceed 
one-half  seem  to  be  raised  as  easily  as  French  lambs.  When  these  same  Anglo-French 
ewes,  however,  are  bred  to  English  rams,  disaster  follows.  Years  were  spent  in 
experimenting  after  this  manner,  in  endeavoring  to  create  a  new  breed  that  should 
have  good  mutton  character  and  be  adapted  to  French  climatic  conditions.  Finally, 
a  different  method  was  adopted,  which  worked  out  successfully.  Four  classes  of 
ewes  of  French  breeding,  representing  the  four  races  of  Berry,  Sologne,  Touraine, 
and  Merino  were  bred  together  to  form  one  mixed  type  without  decided  character, 
without  fixity,  and  with  little  intrinsic  merit,  excepting  that  they  were  well  adapted 
to  French  climatic  conditions.  These  mixed  blood  ewes  were  then  bred  to  a  pure  New- 
Kent  ram.     Thus  was  obtained  offspring  containing  50  per  cent  of  the  purest  and 

rtJour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.  England,  1853,  pp.  214-224. 


150 

most  ancient  English  blood,  with  12$  per  cent  each  of  four  different  French  races. 
Here  the  English  Mood  showed  strikingly  in  the  offspring,  all  the  lambs  resembling 
each  other.  Even  Englishmen  took  them  for  lambs  of  their  own  country.  When 
these  young  ewes  and  ranis  were  bred  together  they  produced  Lambs  closely  resem- 
bling themselves,  without  any  marked  return  to  the  features  of  the  old  French  races, 
from  which  the  granddams  were  derived.  Slight  traces  only  could  be  seen  here  and 
there  by  the  experienced  eye.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  Charmois  breed  of  sheep. 
M.  Malingie-Nouel  states  that  from  the  tirst  dropping  of  his  lambs  the  strongly 
marked  English  character  gave  the  strongest  hope  that  they  would  retain  the  excel- 
lences of  the  English  sires  and  lie  was  not  disappointed.  The  young  animals  as  they 
grew  up  preserved  their  beauty  of  form,  maintained  their  condition  without  extra- 
ordinary food,  and  did  not  suffer  from  weaning.  The  ewe  lambs  were  carefully  pre- 
served, a  few  ram  lambs  saved,  and  the  rest  castrated.  The  next  year  the  same  cross  was 
tried  with  equal  success.  The  third  year  was  still  more  interesting.  The  tirst  ewe 
lambs  at  the  age  of  twenty  months  were  bred  to  the  rams  that  were  saved.  The  off- 
spring was  very  uniform  in  quality,  though  from  parents  of  a  first  cross.  For  years 
there  was  maintained  at  La  Charmois  a  double  set  of  lambs,  one  from  the  New-Kent 
rams  and  the  mixed-blood  ewes  and  the  other  from  rams  and  ewes  the  result  of  that 
cross.  There  continued  a  perfect  resemblance  between  the  two  sets  of  lambs  obtained 
by  the  two  methods.  They  were  often  divided  into  two  lots  and  it  was  found 
impossible,  even  by  careful  examination,  to  distinguish  one  set  of  lambs  from  the 
other.     This,  M.  Malingie-Nouel  seemed  to  think,  indicated  the  fixity  of  the  breed. 

While  this  historical  sketch  of  a  breeding  experiment  deals  with  a  breed  unfamiliar 
to  us,  it  has  unusual  interest  from  the  fact  that  it  is  probably  unique  in  the  annals  of 
breeding.  Note  the  problem  dealt  with.  First,  the  destructive  conflict  of  breed 
characteristics.  Second,  being  overcome  by  climatic  conditions.  Third,  the  survival 
of  the  fittest,  when  strength  of  blood  was  united  to  weakness.  Fourth,  overcoming 
climatic  conditions.  No  more  instructive  experiment  on  the  beneficial  results  to  be 
secured  from  intelligent  crossing  is  available  to  students  of  animal  breeding  than 
occurs  in  the  origin  of  the  Charmois  breed  of  sheep. 

An  interesting  experiment  in  crossing  is  at  present  in  progress  in  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Charles  Goodnight,  of  Clarendon,  Tex.,  has  for  over  twenty  years  been 
engaged  in  an  attempt  to  cross  the  American  buffalo  on  different  breeds  of  cattle. 

In  1879  he  captured  four  buffalo  calves,  and  these  he  made  use  of  as  his  foundation 
stock.  By  crossing  these  with  our  improved  breedsof  cattle,  Mr.  Goodnight  has  hoped 
to  establish  a  new  race  or  breed  having  certain  valuable  qualities  for  the  semiarid 
grazing  lands  of  the  South  wrest.  Unless  accomplished  very  recently,  he  has  never  been 
able  to  cross  the  buffalo  with  other  breeds  of  cattle  excepting  the  native  Texas  cow 
and  the  Galloway  and  Aberdeen-Angus.  The  Galloway  crosses  are  hornless,  thus 
showing  the  intense  polled  habit  of  the  breed  of  this  name,  but  otherwise  they  are 
somewhat  uncertain.  The  Aberdeen- Angus  crosses  have  proved  more  satisfactory  and 
certain.  With  the  Angus  cross,  all  of  the  first  calves  proved  to  be  females.  The  half- 
bred  Angus  heifers  breed  once  a  year,  while  the  buffalo  cow  breeds  only  every  two 
years.  These  half-bred  cows  mate  well  with  buffalo  bulls,  but  if  a  male  hybrid 
results  it  is  sterile,  though  the  females  of  this  blood  breed  readily.  In  a  communi- 
cation to  Dr.  Norgaard,  Mr.  Goodnight  says: 

"I  have  now  been  breeding  them  about  twenty  years  and  I  am  quite  positive  no 
case  of  blackleg  has  occurred  during  that  time,  and  up  to  this  writing  it  holds  good 
to  those  that  are  only  one-fourth  blood.  I  will  this  year  have  several  head  of 
calves  only  one-eighth  blood,  and  I  shall  give  them  every  chance  to  take  blackleg, 
in  order  to  test  them,  although  1  think  they  are  immune. 

"I  have  been  trying  for  several  years  to  establish  a  race  of  cattle  from  the  buffalo. 
So  far  I  have  only  partially  succeeded.  When  this  is  done,  it  will  be  the  greatest 
thing  for  the  cattle  industry  of  America.  They  have  some  characteristics  that  are 
very  valuable  to  this  interest.  Besides  their  great  wTeight  and  the  extra  quality  of 
meat,  they  are,  first,  most  probably  immune  from  blackleg;  second,  they  never  eat 
loco;  third,  they  never  lie  with  their  backs  downhill,  which  causes  so  much  loss  in 
weak  cattle;  fourth,  they  do  not  go  in  bog  holes;  fifth,  they  have  the  greatest  lungs 
in  any  animal  on  earth;  sixth,  they  put  on  more  flesh  for  what  they  eat  than  other 
animals." 

In  connection  with  the  exemption  of  this  crossbred  from  blackleg,  Mr.  Goodnight 
was  first  moved  to  think  of  this  from  the  fact,  so  far  as  his  knowledge  goes,  based 
on  extended  experience  with  the  buffalo  in  days  of  its  abundance,  that  this  animal 
never  suffered  from  this  disease. 

Mr.  Goodnight's  experiment  is  one  of  much  interest  from  both  the  practical  and 
scientific  standpoints.  He  is  pursuing  his  work  rather  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
experienced  cattle  breeder,  crossing  and  recrossing,  and  bids  fair  to  attain  most 
interesting  results  of  a  useful  character. 


151 

Among  the  various  experiments  in  breeding  that  have  attracted  considerable 
attention  in  the  past  have  been  those  relative  to  the  control  of  sex.  Numerous 
methods  have  been  advanced  for  regulating  sex  in  offspring,  of  which  the  following 
may  be  given. 

(1)  The  right  ovary  and  the  right  testicle  produce  males  and  the  left  females. 

(2)  Early  stages  of  oestrum  produce  females,  later  males. 

(3)  A  preponderance  of  spermatozoa  will  cause  male  sex,  while  a  small  amount 
will  result  in  female  offspring. 

(4)  Alternate  ova  will  produce  the  same  sex. 

(5)  The  preponderance  of  sex  rests  with  the  female. 

(6)  The  sex  is  in  excess  according  to  which  is  the  stronger,  the  male  or  female. 

(7)  Sex  is  influenced  by  the  activity  of  the  function  of  nutrition.  Where  there  is 
the  most  nutrition  females  occur,  where  least  males. 

(8)  Young  males  breed  females,  old  males  males. 

Numerous  experiments  have  been  conducted  by  various  persons  on  these  prob- 
lems, but  thus  far  without  securing  data  of  a  permanent  character,  so  far  as  settling 
the  problem  is  concerned.  One  of  these  experiments  is  of  sufficient  interest  to  be 
presented  here,  even  though  somewhat  old.  This  is  an  experiment  reported  by 
M.  Charles  Girou  de  Buzareingues,  of  France/'  who,  on  July  3,  1826,  proposed  to 
the  Agricultural  Society  of  Severac  to  demonstrate  the  control  of  sex  by  method  of 
age — that  is,  that  young  males  sire  female  offspring  and  old  males  male  offspring. 
Two  of  the  members  of  the  society  owning  flocks  of  sheep  placed  them  at  the  disp  >sal 
of  the  society  for  conducting  this  experiment. 

The  first  experiment  was  conducted  as  follows:  M.  Girou  recommended  very  young 
rams  to  be  put  to  the  flock  of  ewes  from  which  the  proprietor  wished  the  greater 
number  of  females  in  their  offspring,  and  also  that,  during  the  season  when  the  rams 
were  with  the  ewes,  they  should  have  more  abundant  pasture  than  the  other;  while 
to  the  flock  from  which  the  owner  wished  to  obtain  male  lambs  chiefly  he  recom- 
mended to  put  strong  and  vigorous  rams  4  or  5  years  old. 

The  following  table  gives  the  result  of  this  experiment: 


Flock  for  female  lambs,  a 

Flock  for  male  I* 

nabs,  b 

Age  of  dam. 

Sex  of  lambs. 

Age  of  dam. 

Sex  of  lambs. 

Male. 

Female. 

Male.     '  Female. 

14 
16 
5 

26 
29 
21 

Two  years 

71 

Three  years 

Three  years 

15                  14 

Four  vears 

33                  14 

Total 

Total 

3-5 
18 

76 

8 

55                 31 

Fiye  years  aud  under  . .  

25                   24 

Total 

Total 

53 

84 

80                  55 

a  Two  rams  seryed  this  flock,  one  15  months  old  and  the  other  nearly  2  years  old.     There  were  three 
twin  births  in  this  flock. 
b  Two  strong  rams  seryed  this  flock,  one  4,  the  other  5  years  old.     No  twins  here. 

Late  in  the  same  summer  another  French  sheep  breeder,  in  the  village  of  Bez,  took 
a  flock  of  84  ewes  and  divided  it  into  two  parts  of  42  each,  one  part  consisting  of  the 
strongest  ewes,  from  4  to  5  years  old,  and  the  other  of  the  weakest  ones,  under  4 
years  old  or  above  5.  Lot  I  was  bred  to  four  male  lambs,  about  6  months  old  each 
and  of  good  promise.  Lot  II  was  bred  by  two  strong  rams  more  than  3  years  old. 
A  third  lot  of  22  head,  owned  by  the  shepherd  of  the  owner  of  the  84  ewes,  were 
placed  with  Lot  II.  The  results  secured  were  as  follows:  Lot  I  dropped  15  males 
and  25  females;  Lot  II  dropped  26  males  and  14  females;  Lot  III  dropped  10  males 
and  12  females. 

The  sheep  of  Lot  III  were  in  better  flesh  than  the  others.  M.  Girou  states  that 
the  general  law,  so  far  as  we  are  able  to  detect  it,  seems  to  be,  that,  when  animals  are 
in  good  condition,  plentifully  supplied  with  food,  and  kept  from  breeding  as  fast  as 
they  might  do,  they  are  most  likely  to  produce  females.  Or,  in  other  words,  when 
a  race  of  animals  is  in  the  circumstances  favorable  for  its  increase,  nature  produces 
the  greatest  number  of  that  sex  which,  in  animals  that  do  not  pair,  is  most  efficient 
for  increasing  the  number  of  the  race.  But  if  they  are  in  a  bad  climate  or  on  stinted 
pasture,  or  if  they  have  already  given  birth  to  a  numerous  offspring,  then  they  pro- 
duce more  males  than  females. 


Ann.  del' Agr.  Francais,  XXXVII,  XXXVIII;  also  Jour.  Agr.,  1828-29,  pp.  63-65. 


152 

This  experiment  is  not  given  here  because  it  gives  information  of  value  to  the 
scientist,  but  rather  as  one  method  of  investigation  bearing  on  breeding  questiona. 

It  is  true  that  the  experiment  in  itself  gave  most  inconclusive  results,  but  it  is  not 
difficult  to  foresee  that,  had  a  persistent  and  systematic  study  been  undertaken  on 
this  same  line,  results  might  have  been  secured  that  would  have  had  a  positive  rather 
than  a  negative  value. 

(  toe  of  the  most  interesting  and  novel  lines  of  investigation  bearing  on  the  breeding 
of  animals  is  that  of  breeding  race  horses  by  the  figure  system,  as  introduced  by 
the  lateC.  Bruce  Lowe."  Mr.  Lowe,  after  many  years  of  study  of  the  history  of  the 
English  race  horse,  including  an  analytical  study  of  pedigree,  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  racers  descended  from  certain  parentage  were  logically  to  be  regarded  as  of  greater 
speed  inheritance  and  ability  than  those  of  other  parentage.  Forty-three  different 
families  of  race  horses  are  given  numbers  from  1  up.  These  families  are  ranked 
numerically,  on  the  basis  of  a  statistical  study  of  the  contestants  of  the  three  most 
prominent  English  races — the  Derby,  Oaks,  and  Leger.  The  family  having  the 
largest  number  of  winners  is  No.  1,  the  next  No.  2,  and  so  on.  Some  of  the  families 
investigated  have  never  won  a  race.  By  placing  the  numbers  adopted  by  Mr.  Lowe 
on  a  regular  tabulated  pedigree,  the  horseman  can  easily  tell  at  a  glance  what  families 
have  been  used  in  the  breeding  of  the  horse  in  question,  and  whether  from  high-class 
speed  ancestry,  as  1,  2,  3,  4,  or  5;  or  outside  one,  as  10,  14,  15,  is,  :;3,  etc.  Of  these 
various  lines,  Nos.  3,  8,  11,  12,  and  14  are  classed  as  the  five  great  sire  families,  coming 
from  stock  very  prepotent  in  the  stud.  Emphasis  is  laid  on  the  fact  that  it  does  not 
follow  that  because  an  animal  is  rich  in  the  running  strains — 1,  2,  4,  and  5 — that  he 
is  going  to  be  a  success  at  the  stud.  In  fact,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  a  sire  from  these 
families  is  likely  to  prove  a  failure  unless  mated  with  mares  from  the  sire  families 
3,  8,  11,  12,  14.  ''AH  the  great  sires  of  the  world,  from  Eclipse  to  the  present  day, 
either  descend  directly  from  these  five  great  families  or  are  inbred  to  them,  and 
horses  not  in  these  families  (or  inbred  strongly  to  them)  are,  so  to  speak,  powerless 
to  sire  winners  unless  the  sire  element  is  strong  in  their  mates." 

The  English  races  previously  referred  to  were  established  in  1777,  1779,  and  1780. 
When  the  English  stud  book  was  first  compiled,  many  jTears  ago,  it  contained  about 
100  mares  or  so-called  "top  roots."  Of  these,  nearly  50  are  represented  in  the  more 
recent  stud  books,  of  which  less  than  20  play  any  prominent  part  in  the  pedigrees 
of  modern  horses,  while  only  about  9  appear  indispensable  in  the  pedigree  of 
any  first-class  race  horse  of  the  present  day.  These  9  classes  are  divided  into  two 
groups,  running  and  sire,  or  feminine  and  masculine.  It  is  contended  in  this  study 
that  the  breeding  of  some  of  these  families  must  show  in  the  three  nearest  top  removes, 
and  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  inbreeding  to  these  choice  families  will  be  the 
measure  of  vitality  contained  in  the  individuals — other  conditions  of  course  being 
equal.  Further,  Lowe  insists  that  every  great  race  horse  and  sire  of  this  century 
will  be  found  to  have  in  his  three  top  removes  one  or  more  of  the  following  figures, 
1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  8,  11,  12,  14.  The  three  great  lines  of  male  descent  are  given  as  the 
Darley  Arabian,  the  Byerly  Turk,  and  the  Godolphin  Barb. 

In  connection  with  this  theory  is  given  a  statement  concerning  each  of  the  families 
in  question,  with  a  list  of  the  winners  at  any  or  all  of  the  three  great  races. 

To  illustrate  this  method  of  studying  the  speed  ancestry  of  racing  stock,  the 
following  pedigree  is  given  of  Salvator,  who  holds  the  world's  record  for  speed,  having 
run  a  mile  in  1.35$. 

"Breeding  Race  Horses  by  the  Figure  System.  Compiled  by  the  late  C.  Bruce 
Lowe,  1898,  pp.  262,  numerous  plates. 


153 


Note.— The  figures  over 
each  column  indicate  the 
percentage  of  blood  in  this 
animal  of  each  one  in  that 
generation. 


1 


61 

12|         (The  Baron  (24) 
rstockwell  (3)  J 


100 

The  pedigree 
of 

SALVATOR,  I 

A  thorough- 
bred horse. 
Record 
1.35|,  t  h  e 
w  o  r  1  d  '  s 
r  u  n  n  i  n  g 
record  of 
1  mile. 


50 

Prince 
Charlie 
(12  . 


Blair  All 
ole    10 


Blink  Bonnv 


Melbourne  (1). 


Queen  Mary .. 


I I- 

l- 

iGlencoe  (1  ../- 

I f- 

I- 

f. 
I- 


Touchstone  (14 1 


East  e  t  n 
^    Princess . 


Surplice  (2).., 


Crucifix 


fSeostxia  (12) 


Tomgris 


[Boston  (40) . . 


lSalina(12). 


Lexington 
(12). 


Timoleon  (4i; 


Sarpedon  (41)  . 


Alice  Carneal, 


Lightsome. 


Glencoe  (1). 


Sultan  (8) 


Trustee  (7) 


Levitv. 


Glaucus  (3).J- 
l- 


SirArchy(ll)/ 


I 

fSaltram. 
I 


Balls  Florizel. 


f- 

V 

Emilius  (22)./- 

(- 


Sumpter  (4)  .j^ir  Archy  (41). 


Selim  (2)  ..../• 


Tramp  (3)  .../■ 


Cotton  (2)  .../ 

fWhisker  (1). 

Tranby  (21). .  fBlacklocki  2,2,1 ) 


154 

This  breeding  shows  very  strong  blood  lines  on  both  sire  and  dam's  side,  tracing 
back  to  the  famous  Eclipse,  with  the  occurrence  of  the  valued  sire  blood  in  family 
three  times.  The  five  leading  families  occur  nine  times  in  this  pedigree,  which  speaks 
very  highly  for  it. 

While  Lowe  gives  do  experimental  records  of  his  own.  the  theory  he  advances  is 
logical  as  based  on  the  laws  of  heredity,  and  his  illustrations  are  elear  and  con- 
vincing. In  Yact.  the  different  adopted  lines  of  families  associated  with  the  various 
pedigrees,  studied  in  themselves,  do  represent  a  method  of  investigation  as  valuable 
and  useful  in  themselves  as  though  a  line  of  breeding  was  conducted  for  this  special 
study.  Lowe's  is  a  distinct  contribution  to  the  literature  of  heredity  and  should 
serve  as  a  valuable  guide  to  the  progressive  breeder  of  race  horses,  as  well  as  an 
important  suggestion  to  breeders  in  general. 

If  the  consideration  of  methods  oi  investigation  so  far  discussed  have  referred  to 
the  work  of  practical  men.  it  is  in  the  main  because  scientific  men  have  under- 
taken but  little  breeding  investigation  with  domestic  animals,  and  especially  farm 
animals.  The  writings  of  the  leading  students  of  animal  breeding  have  contained 
almost  no  illustrative  information,  based  on  systematic  experiments  with  farm 
animals.  Darwin  gives  many  notes  of  records,  but  nearly  all  are  incidental  observa- 
tions and  without  doubt  some  of  these  have  been  interpreted  wrongly.  This  con- 
stitutes one  of  the  most  serious  defects  in  the  study  of  animal  breeding.  While  it  is 
true  that  it  is  not  absolutely  essential  that  breeding  problems  shall  be  studied  with 
farm  animals  in  order  to  get  an  intelligent  understanding  of  them,  it  is  to  be  regret- 
ted that  animals  of  this  class  have  been  used  so  little  in  careful,  systematic,  and 
extended  breeding  that  was  conducted  for  the  verv  purpose  of  studying  cause  and 
effect 

At  Halle,  Germany,  in  connection  with  the  university  and  agricultural  experiment 
station,  there  have  been  conducted  experiments  in  breeding  animals  for  over  thirty 
years.  In  1900  it  was  my  pleasure  to  spend  a  brief  time  examining  this  institution 
and  the  stock  experimented  with.  There  is  quite  an  extensive  series  of  barns  or 
sheds  of  brick  with  very  small  runs  associated,  and  these  usually  paved.  Here  was 
a  considerable  collection  of  breeds  and  crosses  of  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  swine, 
and  also  a  most  interesting  lot  of  species  of  various  lots  gathered  from  Europe,  Africa, 
Asia,  and  America,  used  in  crossbreeding.  There  were  wild  boars,  buffalo,  sacred 
oxen  from  Asia,  queer  fat-tailed  sheep  from  Somaliland,  and  a  wealth  of  breeding 
material,  not  excluding  dogs,  foxes,  wolves,  etc.  The  conditions  of  confinement 
were  those  of  a  zoological  garden  and  certainly  abnormal,  but  I  doubt  if  such  a 
breeding  laboratory  exists  elsewhere  in  the  world.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  work  of 
this  institution  should  be  unknown  to  English  and  American  literature.  1  only  know- 
that  here  much  experimental  work  in  breeding  has  been  and  is  being  conducted,  but 
thus  far  it  does  not  seem  to  be  known  or  recognized  by  English  or  American  writers 
on  this  subject.  It  is  presumable  that  the  investigations  conducted  represent  the 
characteristic  thoroughness  of  the  German  scientists. 

Perhaps  that  investigator  attracting  the  most  attention  at  the  present  time  in  breed- 
ing problems  is  Dr.  J.  Cossar  Ewart,  regius  professor  of  natural  history  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh,  Scotland.  About  1895,  Professor  Ewart  inaugurated  his  present 
experiments.  As  expressed  in  his  writings,  the  purpose  of  his  experiments  has  been 
to  make  a  study  of  certain  questions  in  breeding,  concerning  which  both  breeders 
and  scientists  are  at  variance.  These  include  telegony,  the  relative  influence  of  male 
and  female  parents,  the  influence  of  mental  impressions,  and  the  transmission  of 
acquired  characters,  as  the  more  important  subjects. 

It  is  impracticable  to  attempt  anything  more  than  a  general  discussion  of  the 
methods  and  work  of  this  investigator. 

That  which  might  attract  the  stockman  most  is  represented  in  using  a  Burchell 
zebra,  known  as  Matopo,  on  horses  and  ponies,  and  thus  creating  a  variety  of  hybrids. 
The  first  cross  attempted  was  on  a  pony  from  the  island  of  Rum,  from  which  resulted 
a  hybrid  named  Komulus,  born  on  August  2,  1896.  This  pony  proved  strong  and 
hardy,  was  easily*  broken  to  harness,  and  moves  more  like  a  zebra  than  a  horse.  It 
is  doubtful  if  he  ever  proves  fertile.  As  might  be  expected  this  pony  has  some 
Stripes,  of  a  dark  color,  on  a  coat  which  has  varied  since  the  first  shedding  from  a 
Learner  to  a  mouse  dun.  Matopo  was  also  bred  to  Valda,  a  chestnut  polo  pony,  get- 
ting the  hybrid  Birgus,  foaled  May  12,  1900.  The  stripes  in  this  hybrid  when  very 
young  were  nearly  as  distinct  as  in  a  zebra  foal,  but  as  in  all  the  hybrids  bred  the 
body  color  is  darker  than  in  zebras.  Another  previous  breeding  of  Matopo  and 
Valda  had  resulted  in  twins  on  May  31,  L898,  and  these  were  smaller  and  less  dis- 
tinctly marked  than  their  full  brother  birgus.  One  twin  died  and  the  other  remained 
relatively  small,  with  an  action  more  like  a  stag  than  a  colt  or  young  zebra. 

Matopo  was  also  bred  on  two  different  years  to  a  bay-cart  mare,  15  hands  high. 
The  first  hybrid,  Brenda,  was  stronger  than  her  full  sister  Black  Agnes.     Brenda 


155 

resembled  their  common  dam;  Black  Agnes  took  after  oneof  her  maternal  ancet 
Matopo  Beema  incapable  of  transmitting  his  light  body  color,  or  his  special  form  of 
stripes. 

In  addition  to  these  hybrids,  other  crosses  were  made  to  study  the  influence  oi 
telegony.  The  man'  Valda,  already  referred  to,  after  having  the  twin  hybrids,  was 
bred  toa  chestnut  thoroughbred  horse  named  Lockstitch,  and  Hector  was  foaled  as 
the  result.  A  bay  Erish  thoroughbred  pony,  Rona,  was  bred  to  a  hay  Hackney 
pony  stallion,  as  a  3-year  old,  getting  the  foal  Argo.  The  year  before  Rona  had 
dropped  a  hybrid  foal  to  Matopo.  Neither  Hector  nor  Argo  furnishes  any  evidence 
whatever  that  the  influence  of  the  lirst  breeding  is  felt  in  subsequent  generations, 
where  other  sires  are  used.  Another  foal,  Circus  Girl,  from  a  mare  bred  to  a  Shet- 
land pony  that  had  had  a  colt  by  Matopo  the  previous  year,  also  did  not  support  the 
telegony  idea.  In  fact,  Circus  (iirl  was  a  faithful  reproduction  of  the  dam  in  con- 
formation, color,  gait,  and  disposition. 

A  number  of  other  hybrids  and  crosses  have  also  been  bred  by  Professor  Ewart, 
concerning  which  he  gives  more  or  less  information  in  his  writings. a  Special  con- 
sideration is  given  to  the  telegony  idea  as  reported  on  Lord  Morton's  chestnut  mare 
foaling  to  a  black  Arabian  horse  after  she  had  previously  and  for  the  first  breeding 
foaled  to  a  quagga.  As  evidence  that  the  assumption  that  the  stripes  on  the  second 
foal  of  Lord  Morton's  mare  were  inherited  from  the  quagga  impregnation  is  falla- 
cious, Professor  Ewart  exhibited  in  his  collection,  in  L900,  a  pure-bred  Arab  filly 
that  had  a  dorsal  band  and  distinct  bars  on  both  fore  and  hind  legs  and  vestig 
shoulder  stripes.  These  markings  he  regards  as  an  instance  of  reversion  to  what  he 
designates  the  striped  ancestor  of  all  the  horses. 

In  addition  to  the  zebra  and  various  horses,  ponies,  and  crosses,  Professor  Ewart 
has  conduced  rather  extensive  experimental  work  with  various  animals  and  birds. 
This  includes  rabbits,  guinea  pigs,  cats,  dogs,  goats,  pigeons,  etc. 

A  most  unique  and  valuable  exhibition  of  his  work  was  made  by  him  in  1900  at 
the  show  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England  at  York,  which  it  was  my 
pleasure  to  visit.  A  small  temporary  building  on  the  grounds  was  devoted  entirely 
to  this  exhibition.  This  was  provided  with  stalls  for  the  horses  and  cages  for  the 
other  stock.  The  exhibit  was  arranged  in  systematic  order,  with  numbers  and  abbre- 
viated information  at  each  exhibit.  If  the  visitor  desired  he  could  for  a  shilling  (25 
cents)  purchase  a  valuable  illustrated  guide  to  the  exhibit,  which  gave  the  essential 
facts  concerning  each  number.  In  addition  to  the  living  animals,  the  walls  of  the 
rooms  were  decorated  with  skins  of  several  types  of  zebras,  as  well  as  other  objects 
relating  to  the  experiments  in  progress.  This  exhibit,  so  far  as  my  experience  goes, 
stands  alone  as  the  finest  educational  show  relative  to  stock  breeding  that  has  yet 
been  placed  before  the  public.  It  was  worthy  of  the  highest  commendation.  This 
exhibit  was  especially  instructive  and  certainly  must  have  been  interesting  to  many 
of  the  English  lovers  of  live  stock. 

While  these  investigations  have  not  been  continued  a  long  series  of  years,  still  they 
have  a  reasonable  amount  of  age,  and  in  certain  respects  are  unique  in  themselves. 
Professor  Ewart  proposed  to  study  a  certain  problem,  as,  for  example,  telegony.  In 
the  scientific  world  one  authority  views  telegony  from  one  standpoint,  while  another 
thinks  his  evidence  insufficient.  The  telegony  markings  in  the  case  of  Lord  Morton's 
quagga  had  been  much  quoted.  This  Scotch  scientist,  not  having  access  to  a  quagga, 
as  the  next  best  thing  uses  a  zebra,  a  near  relative  of  the  quagga  and  even  more 
strikingly  marked.  Then  the  process  of  hybridizing  begins  methodically  and  per- 
sistently, and,  so  far  as  possible,  using  the  Lord  Morton  illustrative  material.  But 
Professor  Ewart  goes  much  further,  in  that  he  not  only  uses  other  animals  of  the 
horse  and  zebra  type,  but  he  makes  a  study  of  telegony  with  a  variety  of  animals 
and  birds.  This  experimental  work  is  supplemented  as  the  earlier  work  was  not  in 
two  ways,  viz,  by  the  duplication  of  experiments  by  the  same  man  and  by  the  use  of 
the  camera,  which  has  a  high  value  in  scientific  research.  Thus  the  method  fur- 
nished the  means  of  securing  a  considerable  amount  of  evidence,  which  it  is  fair  to 
assume  was  gathered  in  a  truly  scientific  spirit. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  here  to  go  further  into  the  details  of  the  method  of  Professor 
Ewart,  but,  before  concluding  a  consideration  of  his  investigations,  it  will  be  appro- 
priate to  give  some  of  the  opinions  he  has  arrived  at  as  a  result  of  this  work,  although 
I  do  not  understand  that  these  are  final  conclusions,  for  his  work  is  still  in  progress. 
"I  find,"  he  says,  "as  the  result  of  many  experiments,  that  in  animals,  as  in  plants, 
the  offspring  can  rarely  be  said  to  be  intermediate  between  their  parents,  or  to  unite 
in  equal  proportions  the  characters  of  their  immediate  and  less  immediate  ancestors; 
and  further,  that  the  crossing  of  perfectly  distinct  strains,  varieties,  or  breeds  is  not 

"The  Penycuik  Experiments,  1899;  Guide  to  the  Zebra  Hybrids,  etc.,  1900. 


156 

necessarily  followed  by  reversion.     The  offspring,  or  some  of  them,  may  (1)  down 
to  the  smallest  details  resemble  one  of  the  parents,  sometimes  the  male,  sometimes 

the  female;  or  (2)  they  may  reproduce  both  the  mental  and  physical  peculiarities  of 
one  of  the  grand  parents,  or  of  even  a  fairly  remote  ancestor;  or  (3)  they  may  con- 
sist of  an  unequal  mixture  of  two  or  more  Breeds  and  well  deserve  to  be  designated 
mongrels;  or  (4)  they  may  combine  the  more  striking  characters  of  the  two  breeds; 
they  may  present  quite  new  characters;  when  this  happens,  they  are  often 
termed  'sports.' 

Ewart  further  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  large  litters  of  dogs,  cats,  pigs,  rab- 
bits, etc.,  sometimes  both  parents  and  one  or  more  remote  ancestors  are  faithfully 
reproduced,  and  when  the  parents  belong  to  fairly  distinct  strains,  there  may  be 
almost  a  restoration  of  a  quite  reunite  ancestor.  He  gives  an  illustration  from  a  pho- 
tograph of  three  rabbits,  full  sisters.  One  reproduces  the  characters  of  the  dam,  one 
an  Angora  like  the  paternal  grandam,  and  one  a  Himalaya  like  the  maternal  great- 
grandam.  Of  a  litter  of  four  kittens  from  white  parents,  two  are  white  like  the 
parents,  and  two  dark  colored  like  the  great-grandam. 

In  a  discussion  of  telegony,  Ewart  picks  to  pieces  the  evidence  concerning  the 
Lord  Morton  quagga  hybrid  and  throws  great  doubt  upon  the  original  interpretation. 
Then  coming  to  his  own  investigations,  he  says:  "1  may  mention  that  neither  in  the 
case  of  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  dogs,  cats,  rabbits,  mice,  or  guinea  pigs,  nor  yet  in  the 
case  of  ducks,  fowls,  or  pigeons,  have  I  ever  seen  a  ease  of  telegony."  Many  remark- 
able instances  of  variation  and  reversion  (which  some  would  doubtless  have  explained 
by  the  infection  hypothesis)  have  been  observed,  but  in  every  instance  it  was  possi- 
ble to  account  for  the  phenomena  without  resorting  to  the  telegony  doctrine.  He 
then  refers  to  his  experiments  with  horses  and  cites  ten  mares  that  have  had  an 
opportunity  of  being  infected  by  Matopo,  the  zebra.  There  is  not  the  slightest 
evidence  that  any  of  these  mares  have  ever  been  infected. 

The  methods  of  Ewart  are  of  the  new  school,  so  far  as  investigating  breeding  prob- 
lems are  concerned,  and  should  inspire  others  to  take  up  similar  research  in  this  great 
field. 

Before  passing  to  another  phase  of  this  subject  it  will  be  appropriate  here  to  refer 
to  some  of  the  experimental  work  on  breeding  conducted  by  an  American  institu- 
tion. I  refer  to  the  poultry-breeding  experiments  of  the  Rhode  Island  Station,  and 
more  particularly  those  relative  to  geese  and  to  some  extent  turkeys.  For  years  the 
poultry  industry  has  received  attention  by  the  Rhode  Island  College  and  Station. 
Inasmuch  as  Rhode  Island  has  considerable  poultry  interests  and  is  famous  for  her 
turkeys,  it  was  quite  appropriate  for  the  college  to  promote  this  industry.  The  vari- 
ous reports  published  by  the  station  contain  in  the  aggregate  much  interesting  and 
valuable  information. 

In  1892  the  station  undertook  its  first  special  breeding  work  by  introducing  a 
wild  turkey  gobbler,  raised  from  wild  turkey  eggs  from  Maryland,  and  attempted 
breeding  him  to  domestic  hen  turkeys.  The  purpose  in  this  was  to  introduce  enough 
wild  blood  in  the  domestic  turkey  to  secure  some  of  the  hardiness  and  vigor  of  the 
wild  stock,  and  thus  add  to  the  vitality  of  domestic  birds.  The.  first  season  this  work 
was  attempted  the  wild  gobbler  would  not  associate  with  the  domestic  hens,  drove 
them  from  him,  and  did  not  strut  or  gobble  that  season.  The  following  year  4 
wild  gobblers  were  secured,  and  these  were  used  by  the  station,  and  several  farmers 
also  engaged  in  the  work.  From  this  stock  a  quantity  of  cross-bred  turkeys  were 
produced  by  the  station,  which  were  kept  under  observation.  A  number  of  Rhode 
Island  farmers  also  produced  some  crossbreds.  Following  this,  the  next  season,  the 
station  distributed  three-eighths  and  half-bred  wild  gobblers  to  42  Rhode  Island 
turkey  growers  for  practical  breeding  and  observation  in  their  flocks.  It  was  con- 
sidered that  birds  resulting  from  this  cross  improved  the  turkey  stock  of  those 
using  it.  One  person  who  reared  300  turkeys  from  three-quarter  wild  gobblers  secured 
a  larger  percentage  of  mature  birds  for  market,  and  they  proved  more  uniform  in 
size,  larger  in  weight,  fatted  quicker,  and  dressed  better  than  those  of  domestic  blood. 

The  most  elaborate  breeding  work  by  this  station,  however,  has  been  with  geese. 
This  began  in  1893.  Toulouse  and  Einbden  geese  were  crossmated  each  way,  and 
records  kept  of  the  development  of  the  goslings  from  June  19  to  September  5,  weekly 
weights  being  made  of  the  crosses,  as  well  as  extended  records  of  pure  Toulouse  and 
Embden  stock.  In  L894  cross-breeding  work  on  a  somewhat  larger  scale  was  under- 
taken, and  African  and  Chinese  crosses  were  also  introduced.  Records  of  the  growth  of 
the  products  of  the  various  crosses,  52  birds  in  all,  were  made,  showing  the  growth  at 
various  dates  from  June  9  to  December  8,  1894.  Later  specimens  were  slaughtered 
and  a  record  made  of  live  and  dressed  weight,  with  shrinkage,  and  the  dressed  birds 

a  Guide  to  the  Zebra  Hybrids,  p.  25. 


L57 

were 1 1  n  ii  shown  at  the  winter  show  of  the  Rhode  Island  Poultry  Association.  In 
L895  this  work  was  made  even  more  extensive  and  a  greater  variation  in  cross  con- 
ducted.  A  aumber  of  birds  were  kept  and  fed  onder  uniform  conditions,  and  again 
another  exhibit  of  dressed  young  geese  was  made  at  the  Rhode  [aland  poultry  show. 
In  1896  the  chief  work  of  the  poultry  division  of  the  station  was  given  to  the  breed- 
ing  of  pure  and  cross-bred  geese,  numbering  in  all  21  birds.  Records  were  kept  of 
the  egg-laying  qualities  of  African,  Embden,  Brown  China,  White  China,  and  Tou- 
louse geeae.  The  records  of  growth  were  kept  on  221  goslings  that  were  reared  to 
maturity,  weights  being  obtained  at  5,  8,  and  lo  weeks  of  age,  and  representatives  of 
the  various  crosses  photographed. 

The  1897  report  of  this  station  contains  a  contribution  of  205  pages,  which  is  devoted 
to  the  geese-breeding  experiments.  It  contains  numerous  handsome  half-tone  illus- 
trations of  pure  and  cross-bred  geese,  and  gives  considerable  of  a  practical  nature  as 
well  as  much  detail  concerning  the  breeding  experiments  of  both  L896and  1897. 

In  1897  there  were  21  pens  of  various  types  of  geese.  Early  in  January  each  _ 
was  weighed.  Records  of  egg  production  were  then  kept  during  the  year  from  not 
only  the  pure  bred,  but  also  cross  breds,  and  the  weights  of  eggs  of  each  pen  recorded, 
including  largest,  smallest,  and  average.  Records  of  this  sort  in  fact  were  continued 
for  two  years.  A  special  investigation  of  interest  included  a  study  of  the  effect  of 
incubation  on  goose  eggs,  these  being  weighed  during  incubation,  and  a  record 
of  weight  of  the  hatched  goslings  also  being  included.  A  record  was  also  made 
showing  the  relative  fertility  of  eggs  produced  by  the  different  matings  of  geese  in 
1897.  The  general  growth  of  the  goslings  from  each  cross  was  again  recorded  this 
year,  though  the  experiment  was  not  of  so  long  a  duration.  Some  of  the  birds  were 
killed  and  sent  to  commission  merchants,  once  in  August  and  again  in  September, 
and  estimates  were  placed  on  their  quality  by  these  judges.  Thirteen  dressed  goslings 
exhibited  at  the  Rhode  Island  poultry  show  were  afterwards  sent  to  Brown  Univer- 
sity, where  Professor  Bumpus  dissected  them,  and  made  a  study  of  and  a  report  upon 
the  percentage  of  drawn  to  dressed  weight,  weight  of  solid  meat,  skin  and  fat,  bones, 
offal,  and  feathers,  blood,  etc. 

Besides  the  general  study  of  the  pure  and  cross-bred  geese  as  a  matter  of  develop- 
ment and  productivity,  two  subjects  in  a  somewhat  different  field  also  received  atten- 
tion, viz,  the  influence  of  one  white  parent  on  cross-breeding  geese,  and  the  influence 
of  Toulouse  blood  in  the  production  of  goslings  with  yellow  bills. 

This  work  of  the  Rhode  Island  Station  represents  methodical  and  systematic  effort 
and  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  literature  of  breeding.  The  various  records, 
notes,  and  illustrations  will  serve  for  valuable  use  no  doubt  .at  this  station  as  well  as 
by  others  interested  in  the  study  of  breeding.  While  these  investigations  had  mainly 
a  practical  aim  on  the  part  of  those  conducting  them,  they  contain  evidence  that  some 
day  will  perhaps  be  used  in  still  other  phases  of  a  study  of  breeding. 

The  methods  of  investigation  which  I  have  referred  to  up  to  this  point  relate  first, 
to  the  records  of  men  engaged  in  practical  stock  growing,  having  special  breeding 
problems  in  mind,  and  second,  to  a  limited  extent,  to  the  work  of  the  scientific  inves- 
tigator of  the  principles  of  breeding. 

There  is  also  another  class  of  investigators,  rather  limited  in  number,  who  in  com- 
paratively recent  years  have  taken  up  evolutionary  and  biological  study  on  the  basis 
of  statistical  consideration,  or  by  quantitative  method,  wherein  mathematics  are 
introduced  to  assist  in  reducing  error  to  the  smallest  degree.  It  is  assumed  that  there 
is  no  such  thing  ad  chance  either  in  life  or  death,  and  that  all  things  in  nature  occur 
with  more  or  less  regularity.  If  a  copper  be  flipped  in  the  air  a  thousand  times. 
while  we  do  not  know  how'  it  will  turn  at  an  individual  throw,  we  do  know  that 
experiment  lias  shown  that  it  will  turn  face  up  about  500  times  and  tail  up  about  the 
same.  We  may  go  further  and  take  the  dice  example  given  by  Pearson.0  Twelve 
dice  were  thrown  together  28,306  times,  and  on  each  occasion  the  number  of  dice 
having  5  or6pips  on  their  upper  faces  was  recorded.  The  most  frequent  occurrence  — 
6,100  odd  times — is  4  fives  and  sixes  in  the  throw  of  12  dice.  This  occurrence,  which 
happens  not  necer-sarily  a  majority  of  times,  but  more  frequently  than  any  other,  is 
termed  the  "mode."  If  different  sets  of  counts  are  made,  these  will  group  into 
various  classes,  and  the  proportion  of  individuals  falling  into  a  class  gives  what  is 
known  as  the  "frequency"  of  the  class.  The  "mode"  in  this  case  is  the  4  dice  in 
the  12  thrown  with  5  or  6  pips. 

Studying  the  throwing  by  diagram,  it  is  shown  that  there  is  a  system  of  frequency 
which  in  a  measure;  forms  a  polygon,  and  which  conveys  a  notion  of  law  and  regu- 
larity in  chance  distributions.  This  same  thing  is  shown  to  apply  to  drawing  counters 
or  cards  and  to  tossing  coins.     If  the  records  of  numbers  op  measurements  are  taken 

«The  Chances  of  Death,  etc.,  1897,  p.  11. 


158 

and  charted,  it  is  Been  that  these  will  permit  of  the  formation  of  a  curve,  deviating 
from  the  mode,  which  is  called  the  frequency  curve.  There  are  two  features  of  this 
curve  discussed  by  1'eaisou,  which  will  be  referred  t<>.  First,  the  mode  is  not  neces- 
sarily the  same  thing  as  the  mean.  He  says:  "Suppose  we  Bet  about  counting  butter- 
cup petals,  then  we  should  find  that  5  petals  occur  most  frequently,  hut  that  there 
are  buttercups  to  he  found  with  10  and  even  more  petals.  The  mean  will  he  found  to 
lie  Dearer  to  i;  than  5  petals,  and  after  Belection  and  cultivation,  may  even  differ  by 
as  many  as  2  petals  from  the  mode.  The  amount  by  which  the  mean  differs  from 
the  mode  gives  us  a  conception  of  the  amount  of  asymmetry  or  skewness  of  the  fre- 
quency cm  \i — the  greater  length  of  tail,  so  to  speak,  on  the  mean  side  of  the  mode." 
Second,  experience  soon  shows  that  very  large  deviations  are  not  frequent,  most  of 
the  frequency  occurring  in  a  limited  range  about  mode  and  mean,  and  by  calculation 
a  standard  deviation  is  adopted  as  applying  to  this.  There  is  a  course  variation  in 
the  standard  deviation,  according  to  the  subject  under  record.  The  frequency  classes 
can  he  plotted  off  on  diagram  sheets,  having  the  various  classes  located  along  a  base 
line  and  drawing  perpendiculars  at  these  points  proportional  in  length  to  the  fre- 
quency. When  the  tops  of  the  perpendiculars  are  joined  by  a  line,  the  so-called  fre- 
quency polygon  results.  This  polygon  may  be  symmetrical  or  unsymmetrical.  The 
condition  of  skewness  depends  upon  the  symmetry  of  this  polygon.  The  more 
symmetrical  it  is,  the  less  variation  may  be  expected  in  the  subject  studied. 

Experimental  work  of  this  kind,  which  has  thus  far  had  its  greatest  application  in 
biology  in  general  rather  than  as  applied  to  farm  animals,  is  worked  out  through 
tin' use  of  mathematical  computation  in  which  logarithms  play  an  important  part. 
It  certainly  is  a  line  of  investigation  suited  only  to  those  familiar  with  calculus  and 
advanced  mathematics. 

Again  quoting  Pearson, a  he  says:  ''The  reader  will  be  curious,  however,  to  learn 
what  frequency  curves,  deducted  from  coin  tossing  and  dice  experiments,  have  to  do 
with  mortality.  The  answer  is  this:  If  the  laws  of  frequency  we  are  here  dealing 
with  hold  very  generally  for  the  distribution  of  artificial  frequency  in  cases  where 
we  have  no  knowledge  how  the  individual  instance  will  turn  out,  but  only  statistics 
of  what  happens  in  the  mass,  may  we  not  reasonably  assume  that  they  are  essentially 
the  laws  of  all  large  numbers,  and  that  even  the  frequency  of  death,  its  distribution 
with  age,  will  obey  the  same  laws?" 

Davenport  has  published  a  little  work  on  this  subject,'^  which  is  really  a  laboratory 
manual  with  many  mathematical  tables.  In  this  he  lays  special  emphasis  on  the 
necessity  for  quantitative  study  as  applied  to  the  laws  of  variation,  causes  of  variati<  >n, 
selection,  etc.  Touching  a  matter  quite  direct  in  its  application  to  animal  breeding, 
lie  says:  "  Quantitative  studies  in  heredity  will  give  definite  information  on  prepo- 
tency of  sex  or  race.  By  examining  hybrids  quantitatively  and  comparing  them 
with  their  parents,  we  shall  unravel  the  laws  of  inheritance  in  crossbreeding,  and 
the  principles  of  mixing  character  in  biparental  inheritance." 

While  human  subjects  have  furnished  a  considerable  field  for  investigation  in  this 
line  of  inheritance  and  breeding,  commencing  with  Galton  twenty-five  years  ago  or 
so,  no  doubt  future  investigators  will  give  greater  attention  to  its  application  to  farm 
animals  than  has  heretofore  been  the  case.  As  mathematics  is  regarded  as  the  basis 
of  all  exact  science,  we  should  promote  as  fully  as  possible  its  reasonable  use  in 
those  investigations  bearing  on  the  breeding  of  farm  animals.  Most  certainly  it  is 
true  that  repetition  in  observation  and  extensive  duplication  of  record  will  do  much 
to  assist  in  reducing  our  knowledge  to  a  more  exact  basis,  and  permit  of  drawing 
more  stable  conclusions. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  being  expended  in  the  United  States  by  various  agri- 
cultural experiment  stations  something  in  the  neighborhood  of  81,000,000  per  year. 
A  large  percentage  of  the  stations  using  this  money  are  more  or  less  engaged  in  con- 
ducting feeding  experiments  with  farm  animals.  If  you  will  consult  the  records 
generally  available  on  the  work  of  the  stations,  with  the  exception  already  given, 
you  will  find  almost  nothing  relative  to  breeding  experiments.  Some  work  in  grad- 
ing or  crossing  has  been  attempted  as,  for  example,  grading  up  sheep,  or  feeding 
crossbred  sheep  or  swine,  but  these  have  really  been  feeding  experiments  rather 
than  a  study  on  breeding  problems.  It  has  not  been  so  much  of  a  case  as  to  how  a 
breed  might  be  improved  as,  having  a  given  type  or  form  of  animal,  how  will  it  feed? 
Farmers  over  the  United  States  have  studied  long  and  industriously  over  feeding 
tables,  and  have  anxiously  inquired  for  information  on  what  to  give  or  buy  to  feed, 
and  how  to  feed  to  secure  desired  results,  w  it  bout  giving  any  serious  consideration  to 


"The  ( lhances  of  heath,  etc.,  p.  L8. 

''Statistical    Methods  with   Special  Reference  to  Biological   Variation.     By  ('.    B. 
Davenport,  L899,  pp.  59. 


159 

the  sort  of  stock  to  be  fed.  They  have  aeglected  most  important  things  regarding 
breeding  animals,  thai  in  truth  they  should  know  are  01  paramount  importance, 
without  the  application  of  which  wise  feeding  is  impossible.  Men  have  studied  how 
to  feed  animals  that  were  a  disgrace  to  intellectual  breeding.  And  the  experiment 
stations  have  done  but  little  to  bring  light  totheeyesof  the  stockman,  in  spite  of 
the  importance  of  the  matter,  and  the  fact  that  they  have  been  the  leaders  in  the 
quest  for  knowledge  in  things  agricultural. 

Important  breeding  experiments  will  he  undertaken  in  this  twentieth  century,  and 
no  doubt  much  of  this  should  and  will  he  conducted  by  agricultural  experiment 
station  men.  Just  what  th<  Be  will  he  time  only  can  tell,  hut  they  at  least  should  be 
well  planned  and  he  consistently  conducted,  with  many  individuals,  covering  such  a 
period  of  time  as  will  demonstrate  its  importance.  These  experiments.  BO  far  as 
possible,  should  deal  with  the  recognized  farm  animals  for  subjects,  although  work 
with  other  domestic  animals  may  have  high  value  and  will  he  quite  comparable 
with  farm  animals  for  accuracy  of  result  If,  however,  the  investigations  are  made 
upon  the  horse,  cow,  sheep,  or  pig,  they  will  attract  the  attention  of  the  class  the 
station  is  primarily  working  for  much  more  readily  than  if  rats,  mice,  rabbits,  or 
guinea  pigs  are  the  experimental  material. 

In  an  address  on  "  Suggested  experiments  in  breeding,"  c  Prof.  \V.  11.  Brewer 
recommends  that  experiment  stations  investigate  the  problem  of  the  transmission  of 
acquired  characters  concerning  which  there  is  so  much  controversy.  lie  suggests 
using  rabbits,  taking  several  breeds,  and  mixing  them  by  crossing  as  the  experiment 
proceeds,  ''in  order  that  the  mongrel  produced  may  have  a  greater  tendency  to  vary 
under  the  conditions  imposed  than  if  one  original  breed  was  used,  whose  characters 
were  well  fixed  and  more  liable  to  breed  true  to  the  parent  type."  He  recommends 
two  sets  from  the  game  stock  to  be  bred  along  two  parallel  lines.  One  lot  is  to  be  well 
fed  during  growth  and  the  stock  kept  of  good  size  and  maturity,  the  other  to  be 
stunted  during  growth  by  underfeeding.  This  work  should  be  conducted  for  ten  or 
fifteen  generations  under  these  different  conditions,  with  careful  record  kept  of  each. 
A  record  of  the  number  of  offspring  produced  would  throw  some  light  on  the 
question  of  sex. 

Another  experiment  is  also  suggested,  using  much  the  same  animals  of  mongrel 
stock,  to  determine  the  influence  of  exercise  or  disuse  of  function.  One  set  of 
animals  mutilated  at  birth  by  a  severed  limb,  or  deprived  of  sight  of  one  eye.  might 
be  compared  with  another  set  in  normal  condition  for  fifteen  generations  or  so. 
Disuse  could  be  secured  by  bandaging  or  tying  up  a  limb. 

These  problems  will  furnish  information  of  interest  and  value,  but  we  should  be 
able  to  work  at  some  of  our  stations,  at  least  with  as  much  valuable  material  as  that 
used  by  Professor  Ewart.  Supposing  one  of  our  stations  should  make  a  careful  study 
of  telegony,  and  use  therein  cattle  or  swine,  suited  to  the  purpose.  It  would  not  be 
a  difficult  thing,  for  example,  to  select  a  line  of  cattle,  such  as  10  white  Shorthorn 
cows,  and  breed  these  to  a  Galloway  bull  at  their  first  service,  and  this  later  to  be 
followed  by  the  use  of  a  white  Shorthorn  bull  for  subsequent  service.  And  so  a 
type  of  10  white  sows  might  be  used,  being  mated  for  the  first  time  to  a  black  boar 
of  a  well  recognized  purity,  and  subsequent  matings  to  follow  with  boars  of  the  same 
breed  as  the  females.  Other  animals  might  also  be  used  for  this  same  purpose,  and 
so  a  .very  extensive,  interesting,  and  no  doubt  important,  investigation  would  be 
conducted  that  would  receive  a  respectful  consideration  from  scientific  men,  espe- 
cially if  careful  notes  and  records  were  kept  and  the  camera  made  liberal  and  intelli- 
gent use  of. 

A  problem  long  thought  important  by  practical  breeders  is  the  influence  of  sex  on 
offspring.  That  experiment  station  which  would  conduct  a  careful,  continuous,  and 
extensive  experiment  on  this  subject  with  farm  animals  would  receive  a  degree  of 
applause  and  approval  that  would  give  it  fame  for  a  long  time  to  come  not  only 
among  breeders,  but  also  among  biologists  as  well.  To  be  sure  the  problem  is  a 
knotty  one  that  has  been  labored  on  for  over  a  century,  but  that  makes  it  all  the 
more  important  and  worthy  of  solution. 

As  one  studies  over  the  various  works  on  animal  breeding,  he  can  but  realize 
how  little  they  contain  as  substantial  evidence  to  demonstrate  questions  in  contro- 
versy. Miscellaneous  illustrations  are  given,  but  these  are  often  striking  in  their 
oneness  and  would  seem  to  demonstrate  the  proposition  with  about  as  much  force 
as  that  one  swallow  makes  a  summer. 

What  will  be  demanded  of  the  investigator  in  future  will  be  facts  in  generous 
duplication,  intelligently  interpreted.  Valuable  aid  will  be  rendered  by  the  practi- 
cal breeder,  and  the  careful  scientist  will  receive  his  recognition  and  reward.      The 

«U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Ofhce  of  Experiment  Stations  Bui.  16,  p.  162. 


160 

old  methods  will  be  used  and  they  have  a  place,  perhaps,  bul  the  new  method  of 
Lhe  laboratory  may  be  regarded  as  the  methods  of  the  future.  This  requires  trained 
:  pecialists.  It  will  call  for  more  concentration  of  effort  in  experiment-station  work. 
It  Is  to  be  most  sincerely  hoped  that  the  time  IS  QOl  far  distant  when  men  engaged 
in  investigations  at  our  stations  will  not  be  expected  to  constantly  publish  bulletins 
of  progress  and  give  to  the  press  the  various  occurrences  of  their  laboratories,  unless 
the  time  is  propitious  for  doing  so.  There  should  be  no  haste  to  place  such  infor- 
mation as  this  before  the  public  until  the  tacts  are  all  in,  the  conclusions  drawn,  and 
the  records  in  due  form. 

In  his  presidential  address  on  "The  progress  of  science,"  before  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  at  Denver,  on  August  27,  1901,  Prof.  0. 
B.  Davenport  said,  among  other  things:  "Prominent  among  the  advances  of  the 
century  will  be  the  ability  to  control  biological  processes.  We  shall  know  the  factors 
that  determine  the  rate  of  growth  and  the  size  of  an  animal,  the  direction  and 
sequence  of  cell  divisions,  the  color,  sex,  and  details  of  form  of  a  species.  The  study 
of  animals  in  relation  to  their  environment,  long  the  pastime  of  country  gentlemen 
of  leisure,  will  become  a  science.  Some  day  we  shall  be  able  to  say  just  what  con- 
ditions determine  an  animal's  presence  at  any  place,  and  more  than  that  we  shall  be 
able  to  account  for  the  fauna — the  sum  total  of  animal  life  of  any  locality — and  to 
trace  the  history  of  that  fauna." 

One  can  not  peer  into  the  future,  excepting  darkly,  but  it  does  not  require  a  very 
profound  foresight  to  see  new  and  far  better  methods  in  use  in  studying  problems 
in  animal  breeding.  The  instructor  in  mathematics  will  no  doubt  join  hands  with 
the  one  in  thermatology,  and  thus  the  wTise  application  of  statistical  methods  will 
take  a  place  in  the  work  such  as  the  nineteenth  century  has  hardly  seen.  Crude 
opinions  and  desultory  observation  will  certainly  not  meet  with  favor,  but  scientific 
accuracy  in  all  its  details  will  be  the  requirement  of  the  future.  With  the  advent  of 
such  methods,  one  may  look  for  a  profound  addition  to  our  knowledge  of  the  princi- 
ples of  breeding. 

The  section  then  adjourned  sine  die. 


SECTION  ON  HORTICULTURE  AND  BOTANY. 


Meetings  of  the  section  were  held  on  the  afternoons  of  November  17,  IS,  and  19, 
1903,  at  4  p.  m. 

It  was  decided  to  take  up  the  papers  in  two  groups:  First,  those  relating  to  experi- 
ment-station work;  second,  those  relating  to  college  or  teaching  work. 

F.  V.  Coville,  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, gave  a  brief  outline  of  the  work  at  the  Carnegie  Arid  Region  Laboratory  and 
briefly  discussed  the  results  thus  far  obtained.  A  number  of  photographs  were 
exhibited  illustrating  the  vegetation  of  the  region. 

The  following  paper  was  presented  by  W.  A.  Orton,  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture: 

Crop  Rotation  ix  the  Southern  States  as  Influenced  by  Plant  Diseases. 

The  several  reasons  for  the  rotation  of  crops  may  be  classed  under  three  general 
heads: 
I.  To  increase  and  maintain  the  productive  capacity  of  the  land — 

(a)  By  the  addition   and   conservation  of  nitrogen  and  other  available  plant 

foods  through  the  agency  of  leguminous  and  other  crops. 

(b)  P>y  alternating  crops  of  different  food  requirements. 

(c)  By  improving  the  physical  and   biological   condition  of  the  soil,  through 

the  addition  of  humus,  the  alternation  of  cultivated  with  covercrops,  etc. 

(d)  By  growing  deep-rooted  crops  to  bring  up  plant  food  for  shallow-rooted 

crops  and  to  establish  deeper  aeration. 

(e)  By  the  conservation  of  soil  moisture. 
II.  To  make  farm  operations  economical — 

(a)  By  having  the  income  derived  from  several  crops  instead  of  from  one. 

(b)  By  securing  continuity  and  regularity  in  the  employment  of  labor. 


161 

III.  To  control  natural  enemies — 

'a)  Weeds. 

^b)  Insects. 

'c)  Plant  diseases. 
This  paper  relates  primarily  to  the  last  item,  the  r61e  ol  plant  diseases  in  crop  rota- 
tion, though  it  manifestly  will  be  necessary  to  include  some  consideration  of  the 
other  related  factors. 

The  problems  of  crop  rotation  vary  in  different  parts  of  our  country,  and  most  of 
what  has  been  written  on  the  subject  relates  to  our  northern  condition-,  where  plant 
diseases  have  an  influence  quite  subordinate  to  the  fertility  factors.  The  principal 
plant  diseases  that  modify  rotations  in  the  North  are  potato  scab,  cabbage  club  foot, 
onion  smut,  etc.,  which  are  familiar  examples  to  us.  This  paper  deals  with  southern 
problems,  the  section  treated  being  bounded  on  the  north  by  Virginia  and  on  the 
wot  by  the  Mississippi  River.  Here  in  this  eastern  cotton  belt  rotation  of  crops  is 
needed  more  and  practiced  less  than  anywhere  else  in  the  country. 

P2JESENT    PRACTICES. 

The  methods  that  have  contributed  so  Largely  to  the  decline  of  agriculture  in  the 
South  have  changed  but  little  as  yet.  All  practices  still  center  around  the  great 
staple  crop — cotton — which  consequently  will  be  the  principal  topic  of  this  paper. 
There  is,  first,  the  all-cotton  system  on  immense  numbers  of  acres,  where  no  rotation 
is  practiced  and  only  commercial  fertilizers  are  used  to  maintain  the  productiveness 
of  the  land;  that  cotton  is  not  an  exhaustive  crop  is  amply  proved  by  the  fact  that 
much  land  remains  productive  to-day  after  forty  years  of  continuous  cropping.  Sec- 
ond, cotton  with  corn;  the  most  common  rotation  now  practiced  in  the  South  is 
cotton  alternating  with  corn,  which  may  or  may  not  have  cowpeas  {'hinted  between 
the  rows.  Third,  fallowing  or  resting  is  practiced  where  land  is  exhausted.  This  is 
not  done  as  much  as  it  was  before  the  era  of  commercial  fertilizers;  but  old  farmers 
still  lay  stress  upon  the  mysterious  influence  of  '"  broom-sedge"  in  renovating  land, 
and  on  the  sea  islands  of  South  Carolina  fallowing  is  the  accepted  practice,  and  all 
good  fanners  allow  half  their  land  to  lie  out  and  grow  up  in  weeds  while  the  other 
half  is  planted  in  cotton.  This  is  their  regular  rotation,  except  that  some  plant  half 
the  fallow  in  cowpeas, making  a  four-course  rotation — cotton,  rest,  fallow,  cowpeas. 


The  fallowing  system  is  a  wasteful  one.  We  see  no  reason  why  a  useful  forage 
crop  might  not  be  grown  instead  of  the  weeds,  and  a  legume  put  in  to  gather  more 
nitrogen.  The  rotation  with  corn  shares  with  the  all-cotton  plan  the  great  defect 
that  it  gives  continuous  clean  culture,  a  feature  especially  bad  in  the  South,  where 
the  intense  heat  of  the  summer  sun  and  the  torrential  winter  rains  burn  up  or  wash 
away  more  plant  food  than  is  taken  up  by  the  crops.  The  soil  is  deprived  of  its 
humus,  and  its  physical  condition  is  lowered.  This  reacts  directly  on  the  cotton 
plant,  producing  the  pathological  conditions  commonly  referred  to  as  "shedding  of 
bolls"  and  '"rust."  It  is  not  merely  that  the  size  of  the  plant  is  reduced  from  the 
lack  of  nutrition,  but  it  has  become  more  sensitive  to  changes  in  environment  and  is 
easily  thrown  out  of  balance,  so  that  it  sheds  its  bolls  more  readily  when  subjected 
to  sudden  drought  or  any  other  unfavorable  circumstance. 

Rust  in  cotton,  probably  the  most  destructive  of  its  diseases,  causes  an  annual  loss 
mounting  into  the  millions  of  dollars,  all  due  primarily  to  lack  of  rotation.  It 
occurs  on  land  where  the  supply  of  vegetable  matter  has  been  depleted,  and  espe- 
cially when  there  is  also  a  lack  of  potash  or  poor  drainage.  If  one  visits  a  farm 
where  a  good  system  of  rotation  is  practiced  no  complaint  of  rust  will  be  heard,  for 
the  disease  is  easily  overcome  in  this  way. 

Other  common  diseases  of  cotton,  such  as  anthracnose,  angular  leaf  spot,  cerco- 
spora,  etc.,  which  are  due  to  fungus  or  bacterial  parasites  and  spread  through  the  air 
rather  than  in  the  soil,  may  not  be  so  directly  controlled  by  rotation,  but  they  would 
undoubtedly  be  diminished,  both  by  the  superior  vigor  and  hardiness  of  the  cotton 
plants  and  by  the  diminution  of  the  opportunities  for  infection. 

PRESENT    NEEDS. 

The  great  need  of  the  South  to-day  is  the  general  adoption  of  a  better  system  of 
rotation,  for  this  would  imply  more  diversification  of  crops.     To  control  the  diseases 

we  have  mentioned  it  will  be  necessary  to  restore  and  maintain  the  supply  of  veg- 
etable matter  in  the  soil,  and  to  do  this  two  things  are  essential — (1)  that  some 

21736— Xo.  142—04 11 


162 

leguminous  crop  be  used  for  soil  renovation,  and  (2)  that  a  winter  cover  crop  be 
used  in  prevent  washing.  <  ►neof  the  simplest  rotations  practicable  is  already  widely 
u.-ed.  It  has  three  courses:  I  I  Corn,  with  cowpeas  between  the  rows;  (2)  oats, 
followed  by  cowpeas,  and  (3)  cotton.  Tins  Ls  an  excellent  rotation,  and  is  prob- 
ably better  adapted  to  present  conditions  in  the  South  than  any  other.  Owing  to 
the  fact  that  many  fanners  feel  obliged  to  plant  half  their  land  in  cotton  each  year, 
it  is  often  necessary  to  add  another  year  in  cotton  to  this,  making  two  years  of  cotton. 
Where  such  a  rotation  is  adopted  and  a  liberal  application  of  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid  made  to  the  pea  crop,  rust  in  cotton  is  rarely  ever  seen,  and  much  less  trouble 
is  experienced  from  shedding  of  the  bolls. 

The  function  of  winter  cover. crops  is  mainly  to  prevent  the  washing  that  occurs 
when  the  soil  is  Left  unprotected,  but  they  also  furnish  valuable  winter  pasture. 
Hairy  vetch,  with  wheat  or  oats;  burr  clover,  with  Bermuda  grass;  crimson  clover 
and  rape  are  the  most  prominent  in  the  list  of  available  plants.  They  have  not  yet 
come  into  use  in  the  South  enough  to  have  become  parts  of  any  common  system  of 
rotation.  Their  value  is  unquestionable,  but  there  is  need  for  more  experiments  and 
demonstrations  to  introduce  these  crops  to  the  public. 

More  extended  systems  of  rotation  will  come  later  with  the  increase  in  stock  rais- 
ing. For  the  present  the  simple  system  first  outlined  will  be  a  great  advance.  Some 
modifications  of  it  for  special  conditions  will  be  mentioned  later. 

Next  in  order  for  consideration  come  a  number  of  diseases  requiring  special  atten- 
tion. The  cotton  wilt,  caused  by  the  fungus  Neocosmospora  vasirifecta,  is  ;i  soil  disease 
widely  prevalent  in  sandy  and  gray  land.  It  occurs  in  spots  of  varying  size,  often 
covering  many  acres.  The  fungus  is  able  to  live  in  the  soil  for  many  years  in  the 
absence  of  cotton,  and  rotation  is  consequently  not  a  remedy  after  land  becomes 
infected,  though,  if  practiced  in  advance,  it  would  undoubtedly  do  much  to  prevent 
the  disease  from  gaining  a  foothold.  The  cotton  wilt  must  be  combated  by  breeding 
resistant  strains.  It  has  been  shown  that  this  can  be  done  successfully,  and  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  has  originated  varieties  that  will  grow  on  wilt-infected 
land.  This  does  not  entirely  settle  the  question,  however,  as  the  wilt  problem  is 
further  complicated  in  many  instances  by  root  knot,  caused  by  the  nematode  worm 
Heterodera  radicicola,  which  occurs  to  a  considerable  extent  in  sandy  soils  south  of 
Virginia.  The  nematode  worm  inhabits  the  same  warm,  sandy  lands  that  surfer  from 
cotton  wilt,  and  while  the  two  do  not  always  occur  together  a  great  deal  of  wilt- 
infected  cotton  land  also  contains  nematodes.  They  increase  the  injury  done  by  wilt 
and  must  be  considered  in  every  case.  The  matter  is  more  serious  because  root  knot 
occurs  on  a  number  of  other  farm  crops,  particularly  on  cowpeas,  and  the  extensive 
use  of  cowpeas  as  a  rotation  crop  has  resulted  in  great  injury  in  many  cases  by 
increasing  the  amount  of  root  knot.  Cowpeas  are  particularly  liable  to  this  disease, 
and  cotton  following  them  on  infected  fields  is  liable  to  suffer  more  from  both  wilt 
and  root  knot.  The  wilt-resistant  cotton  developed  by  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture does  not  resist  nematodes  and  can  not  be  used  successfully  on  such  land  unless 
a  system  of  rotation  is  practiced.  It  is  quite  certain  that  the  remedy  for  root  knot  is 
rotation  of  crops.  The  essential  point  is  to  starve  out  the  nematodes  by  growing 
immune  crops  and  to  avoid  the  use  of  any  crop  that  is  subject  to  attack. 

The  subject  of  root  knot  is  a  most  important  one  and  is  not  given  proper  consider- 
ation by  southern  farmers  and  their  advisers.  In  the  Gulf  States  especially  root 
knot  may  be  suspected  in  all  sandy  soil  and  all  rotations  must  consider  this  factor. 
Cowpeas  in  general  must  not  be  grown;  the  Iron  cowpea  is  practically  immune  to 
root  knot,  as  are  also  some  new  hybrids  obtained  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
and  they  can  be  grown  in  root-knot  rotations,  but  all  other  varieties  must  be  avoided. 
There  are  fortunately  other  good  legumes  adapted  to  this  section.  We  may  use  for 
this  purpose  the  Iron  cowpea,  velvet  bean,  beggar  weed,  and  peanuts. 

ROTATIONS   SUGGESTED. 

In  arranging  a  rotation  for  the  South  economic  conditions  must  be  considered  and 
the  backward  state  of  agriculture  kept  in  mind.  The  crops  grown  must  be  useful 
ones  and  easily  grown  and  marketed.  Corn,  the  grains,  and  grasses  are  the  best 
Cleaning  crops  and  also  have  a  money  value.  The  effect  of  oats  on  root  knot  is  very 
marked,  and  a  single  crop  will  do  much  to  reduce  the  root  knot  in  a  held.  For  land 
badly  infested  with  nematodes,  which  it  is  desired  to  clean  out,  three  years  in 
immune  crops  are  recommended.  An  example  of  a  rotation  that  may  be  adopted  is: 
Corn,  with  Iron  cow  peas  or  peanuts  between  the  rows;  oats,  followed  by  velvet  beans, 
and  beggar  weed  for  hay.  Of  the  leguminous  crops  available,  the  velvet  bean  is 
especially  adapted  to  the  extreme  South.  In  Florida  and  the  Gulf  States  it  excels 
all  others  in  vigor  of  growth  and  rank  foliage.     It  is  practically  free  from  root  knot, 


168 

though  it  has  heeu  known  to  be  attacked.  Beggar  weed  subserves  a  different  pur- 
pose, an<l  its  growth  should  be  encouraged  for  the  fine  hay  it  makes  and  on  account 

of  its  entire  freedom  from  root  knot.  The  peanut  has  been  free  from  root  knot  in 
all  the  cases  examined,  but  requires  further  study.  Its  BpeciaJ  merits  are  its  value 
as  a  forage  for  \\<  gs,  its  adaptability  to  southern  conditions,  and  its  service  in  improv- 
ing land.  Farther  north  and  in  the  upper  sections  of  the  South,  alfalfa,  clover,  and 
other  legumes  are  available  and  are  efficient  in  rotations  for  improvement,  l>ut  their 
susceptibility  to  root  knot  is  unknown  to  the  speaker.  Corn  is  not  attacked  and  can 
be  used  at  will.  Oats  are  particularly  good,  as  is  wheat  or  rye,  but  the  latter  two 
are  not  so  well  adapted  to  the  far  South.  ( »ats  may  be  followed  by  a  natural  growth 
of  crab  grass  if  care  is  taken  to  exclude  Aniarantiis  and  other-  weeds  that  harbor 
root  knot.  Bermuda  grass  allowed  to  remain  for  hay  and  pasture  would  effectively 
dispose  of  the  root-knot  problem.  I  can  not  speak  of  sorghum,  hut  sugar  cane  is. 
attacked  by  root  knot  to  a  considerable  extent.  The  injury  is  not  so  apparent  to  the 
cane  as  it  is  to  cotton  following  it  the  next  year.  The  small  amount  of  cane  grown 
in  the  Southeast  makes  this  of  small  importance,  but  land  free  from  root  knot  should 
be  chosen  for  it. 

Two  points  are  important  in  connection  with  these  rotations.  One  is  that  the 
preparation  of  the  land  should  be  thorough,  and  the  seeding  of  oats,  beggar  weed, 
or  other  crop  heavy,  in  order  to  secure  a  perfect  stand  and  prevent  the  growth  of 
weeds  that  harbor  the  root  knot.  The  benefit  expected  from  a  rotation  may  be 
Largely  lost  if  weeds  are  allowed  to  propagate  the  nematodes. 

The  second  point  is  that  many  southern  soils  are  so  weak  and  deficient  in  avail- 
able plant  food  and  vegetable  matter  that  the  removal  of  a  forage  crop  like  hay.  sor- 
ghum, or  even  grain,  causes  marked  injury  unless  it  is  balanced  by  the  culture  of  a 
legume.  On  such  soils  the  rotation  should  introduce  a  legume  at  more  frequent 
intervals. 

We  have  experiments  under  way  to  show  the  practicability  of  controlling  root 
knot  by  rotation  of  crops,  and  we  shall  use  the  wilt-resistant  cotton  to  avoid  wilt. 

WATERMELOX    WILT. 

Another  instance  where  a  plant  disease  compels  rotation  is  the  watermelon  wilt, 
caused  by  a  soil  fungus  (Neocosmospora  vasinfecta  var.  nivea),  closely  related  to  the 
cotton-wilt  fungus.  This  is  one  of  the  most  active  parasites  known  and  is  found 
almost  everywhere  that  watermelons  are  grown  comjnercially,  especially  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina.  <  Teorgia,  Florida,  Illinois,  and  California.  It  is  in  most 
cases  impossible  to  grow  more  than  one  crop  on  any  land,  and  even  where  no  sign  of 
wilt  is  discovered  in  the  first  crop  a  second  planting  in  the  same  field  is  almost  cer- 
tain to  result  in  failure.  For  that  matter,  it  is  equally  impossible  to  succeed  on  land 
that  has  received  the  drainage  water  from  a  watermelon  field,  since  the  fungus  spores 
are  carried  in  this  way,  as  many  a  grower  can  testify  from  his  personal  failures.  The 
rotation  here  must  be  a  lon^r  one;  seven  to  ten  or  twelve  years  are  the  periods  allowed 
by  some  growers,  while  others  never  plant  land  a  second  time  in  watermelons.  The 
period  the  fungus  will  live  in  the  absence  of  a  melon  crop  varies  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  soil.  There  is  a  lack  of  well-authenticated  experiences  bearing  on  this 
point. 

Another  instance  of  compulsory  rotation  is  the  Fusarium  wilt  of  tomatoes,  a  dis- 
ease of  general  distribution  in  Florida,  where  it  has  an  important  bearing  on  the 
trucking  industry.  In  this  case,  also,  only  one  crop  can  be  grown  with  <_rood  success, 
and  a  period  of  three  to  five  or  more  years  must  elapse  before  tomatoes  can  be  planted 
again  on  that  land.  No  regular  system  of  rotation  has  yet  come  to  be  practiced  with 
watermelons  and  tomatoes.  Melon  growing  is  a  transient  industry,  following  the 
new  railways  and  becoming  unprofitable  as  soon  as  all  the  land  near  the  railway 
has  been  planted  once.  The  tomato  wilt  affects  a  crop  that  is  worth  $3,000,000 
annually  to  Florida  alone.  It  hinders  the  permanent  development  of  the  promising 
trucking  sections  of  that  State  and  will  do  so  until  other  crops  come  in  to  make  a 
regular  system  of  rotation  profitable. 

The  wilt  diseases  in  general  require  more  than  rotation.  They  are  difficult  to 
control  by  this  means,  since  the  period  of  soil  infection  is  so  long,  and  as  a  practical 
means  of  relief  it  is  necessary  to  obtain  wilt-resistant  varieties,  if  the  areas  to  be  cul- 
tivate" I  are  too  huge  to  allow  of  using  fresh  land  each  year.  The  cabbage  wilt,  for 
instance,  is  a  garden  disease  and  can  be  dealt  with  by  moving  the  garden.  The 
cowpea  wilt  usually  disappears  after  two  or  three  years'  rotation.  The  occurrence  of 
this co wpea wilt, Neocosmospora  vasinfecta  var.  track*  iphila,  is  an  indication  of  the  need 
for  crop  rotation.  In  the  northern  States  and  in  European  countries  clover  sickness 
prevents  the  continual  use  of  clover.  The  cowpea  in  the  South  in  like  manner 
finally  succumbs  to  "pea  sickness,"  and  we  find  the  cause  to  be  this  wilt  fungus  or 


164 

the  root  knot.  The  occurrence  of  such  diseases  is  an  indication  of  nature's  demand 
for  rotation,  and  we  should  heed  her  call  by  changing  the  legume  we  employ  in  our 
rotation  from  time  to  time.  Lei  the  velvet  bean,  beggar  weed,  or  crimson  clover 
take  the  place  of  the  cowpea  occasionally,  even  though  we  have  the  disease-resistant 
Iron  cowpea  available. 

Another  instance  where  rotation  affords  an  easy  remedy  for  a  serious  disease  is 
found  in  Texas,  where  a  fun-jus  root  rot,  formerly  known  as  Ozonium,  causes  much 
injury  to  cotton,  alfalfa,  and  other  plants.  This  malady  is  readily  controlled  by 
rotation  with  corn,  grasses,  or  other  immune  crops  for  three  or  four  years. 

ROTATIONS    FOB   0BCB  LRDS. 

Peach  orchards  in  Georgia  and  Florida  are  frequently  troubled  by  root  knot  and 
fungus  root  diseases,  and  a  long-course  system  of  rotation  is  required.  First,  before 
planting  the  orchard  two  or  three  years  should  he  given  to  five  the  land  of  root 
knot  and  put  it  into  good  condition  by  planting  oats,  velvet  beans,  corn,  and  Iron 
cow  peas  or  beggar  weed.  Then,  during  the  life  of  the  orchard  the  intercultural  and 
cover  cn.ps  should  he  those  not  subject  to  root  knot.  Finally,  after  the  orchard  is 
taken  out,  a  period  of  live  years  should  he  given  to  renovate  the  land  and  free  it 
from  root  knot  and  fungus  diseases.  Root  rot  from  the  attacks  of  fungi  is  to  be 
feared  where  peaches  are  replanted  too  soon. 

ROTATIONS    FOR    NURSERIES. 

Rotation  in  the  nursery  is  particularly  important  in  view  of  the  prevalence  of  root 
knot,  crown  gall,  etc.,  in  nurseries,  and  the  danger  to  the  public  of  spreading  these 
diseases.  If  possible,  fresh  land  should  always  he  taken  for  growing  nursery  stock. 
Three  years  of  the  right  rotation  would  he  sufficient  lor  root  knot,  hut  the  time 
crown  gall  will  persist  in  the  land  has  not  been  determined,  and  it  would  he  safer  if 
rive  years  were  allowed. 

ROTATIONS    FOR    TRUCK    FARMS. 

Where  early  vegetables  are  grown  for  the  northern  market,  it  is  often  of  great 
importance  that  a  rotation  should  be  practiced  to  avoid  plant  diseases.  Particular 
instances  are:  (1)  Potatoes:  To  avoid  scab  and  stem  rot  (Rhizoctonia) .  Disinfection 
of  the  seed  will  not  avail  when  the  soil  is  full  of  disease  germs.  (2)  Cabbages:  To 
avoid  black  rot  and  the  Fusarium  wilt,  cabbages  should  not  come  oftener  than  once 
in  three  years,  and  a  longer  period  would  do  well. 

Other  truck  crops  will  be  benefited  in  the  long  run  by  a  regular  system  of  rotation. 

In  conclusion,  1  wish  to  urge  a  greater  interest  in  th  s  subject  of  crop  rotations  in 
the  South  not  only  for  controlling  plant  diseases,  but  for  all  the  other  objects  as 
well  It  is  very  important  that  careful  experiments  he  made,  and  even  more  impor- 
tant that  extensive  practical  demonstrations  he  undertaken  to  show  the  farmer  the 
necessity  of  the  work  and  the  methods  of  doing  it. 

After  a  brief  discussion  of  the  paper,  F.  F.  Stevens  (North  Carolina)  read  the  fol- 
lowing paper: 

Notes  on  Cooperative  Experiments. 

Cooperative  experiments  may  be  divided  fundamentally  into  two  classes  according 
to  the  purpose  they  serve.  Their  purpose  may  be  first  to  uncover  unknown  truths 
and  to  extend  knowledge;  second,  to  demonstrate  to  practical  farmers  methods  the 
efficiency  of  which  is  already  known  to  the  scientist.  In  weighing  the  efficiency  of 
cooperative  experiments  these  two  categories  should  he  clearly  recognized.  The 
value  of  cooperative  experiments  for  demonstration  should  not  be  underestimated. 
Investigators  in  the  pursuit  of  new  truths  labor  unceasingly  to  add  to  the  store  of 
knowledge,  and  then  too  often  abandon  the  newlv  discovered  facts  before  pushing 
them  on  to  practical  utility.  The  experiment  stations  have  accumulated  volumes  of 
information  which  would  lead  to  immense  improvement  in  methods  of  farming  and 
accrue  to  the  great  financial  interest  of  the  agricultural  community,  if  the  farmers 
could  only  be  brought  to  realize  their  value.  Results  of  research  are  published  at 
great  expense  in  bulletin  form,  yet  only  to  meet  too  often  a  fate  known  to  us  all. 
The  former  is  conservative.  He  is  prone  to  follow  in  the  steps  of  his  grandfather, 
and  the  bombardment  of  bulletins  seldom  suffices  to  turn  him  from  his  course. 

One  of  the  greatest  needs  of  the  present  day  is  some  means  that  will  bring  the 
advancement  of  science  within  the  ken  of  the  farmer  in  so  far  as  it  relates  to  his 
vocation.     With  the  younger  generation  the  chief  hope  lies  in  agricultural  education. 


i»;.r) 

The  man  who  is  forming  to-day  is  beyond  such  gentle  influence.  With  each  most 
promising  work  may  be  done  through  cooperative  experimentation.  The  number  of 
instances  where  knowledge  of  improved  methods  now  rest  stored  bevond  the  reach 
of  the  average  intellectual  inerl  farmer  is  manifold.  It  was  to  test  the  efficiency  of 
cooperative  experimentation  as  a  means  of  \\  holesale  demonstration  that  experiments 
were  initiated  two  years  ago  in  North  Carolina  with  the  oat-smut  treatment  I  out- 
line the  method  of  conducting  these  experiments,  realizing  that  human  nature  is  a 
reasonable  constant  quantity,  and  with  the  hope  that  my  experience  may  be  of  use 
to  others  working  along  similar  lines. 

In  selecting  observers  t<>  cooperate  with  me  for  the  year  idol'-:;  the  following  plan 
was  adopted:  First,  the  names  of  a  large  number  of  influential,  reliable  farmers  were 
secured  through  the  director  of  the  station  ancLother  sources.  Letters  were  sent  to 
these  inquiring  whether  they  were  troubled  with  the  oat  smut  and  offering  to  fuY- 
Dish  directions  and  materials  for  treatment  of  their  oat  fields,  if  they  desired.  If  no 
answer  was  received  to  this  letter  a  second  letter  was  sent  on  the  loth  of  October. 
In  this  letter  attention  was  called  to  the  serious  inroads  and  the  insidious  nature  of 
the  oat  smut,  and  a  circular  was  sent  giving  directions  for  the  treatment.  The  chief 
object  of  this  letter  was  to  call  attention  to  the  seriousness  of  the  disease  and  the  ease 
of  its  prevention.  In  response  to  these  letters  51  people,  scattered  overthe  state, 
responded,  requesting  the  material  for  the  smut  treatment.  To  these  51.  formalin 
varying  in  quantity  from  1  to  7  ounces  was  supplied,  and  circulars  giving  full  direc- 
tions for  the  treatment  were  also  sent.  In  February  a  third  letter  containing  a  self- 
addressed  postal  card  was  sent  with  the  request  that  the  experimenter  signify  the 
probable  time  of  his  harvest.  At  this  time  it  was  the  hope  of  the  writer  to  make  a 
visit  to  as  many  of  the  fields  as  was  feasible.  A  fourth  letter  was  sent  out  in  April 
to  those  who  did  not  respond  to  the  third  letter.  The  replies  elicited  by  these  third 
and  fourth  letters  numbered  36  out  of  the  possible  51.  They  were  in  every  case  cor- 
dial and  expressed  the  hearty  cooperation  of  the  worker. 

The  year,  however,  was  exceedingly  unfortunate  Owing  to  the  attacks  of  the  Hessian 
fly  ami  the  rust.  In  many  cases  the  crop  was  not  worth  harvesting  and  in  man}  cases 
the  observers  stated  that  the  growth  was  so  poor  that  they  could  not  report  at  all 
upon  the  results.  The  fact  that  the  year  was  so  unfortunate  may  account  for  the 
falling  <'ff  from  fifty-one  to  thirty-six  in  the  number  of  correspondents. 

Later  in  the  season  a  fifth  letter  was  sent  giving  explicit  directions  for  the  record- 
ing of  the  results  and  inclosing  a  blank  on  which  to  record  them.  Fifteen  observers 
responded  more  or  less  in  detail  on  this  blank.  Some  of  the  letters  received  showed 
extremely  well-trained  powers  of  observation  and  accuracy  of  recording,  others  were 
very  meager  indeed,  while  several  were  valueless  on  account  of  the  failure  of  the  crop. 

Further  study  of  the  problem  convinced  me  that  more  satisfactory  and  extensive 
work  might  be  accomplished  through  the  aid  of  the  country  schools.  During  the 
past  year,  at  farmers'  institutes  and  country  teachers'  institutes  and  at  many  country 
meetings,  I  have  taken  the  names  of  all  people  who  might  be  interested  in  the  pre- 
vention of  oat  or  wheat  smuts,  and  have  offered  in  every  case  to  furnish  1  ounce  of 
formalin,  sufficient  for  approximately  2  acres  of  oats,  gratis,  if  the  recipient  would 
see  that  this  formalin  was  administered  under  the  supervision  of  the  district  school 
and  was  used  to  present  an  object  lesson  to  the  school.  In  order  to  be  sure  that 
interest  was  not  lagging  and  that  the  teachers  were  still  willing  to  abide  by  this 
agreement,  I  directed  a  letter  to  all  of  these  people  early  in  the  fall,  calling  their 
attention  to  the  fact  that  I  expected  of  them  a  full  and  accurate  report,  and  that  they 
were  to  use  the  formalin  before  their  schools,  and  that  the  whole  school  was  to  take 
part  in  making  the  experiment  and  recording  the  results.  J  also  sent  a  letter  to  all 
of  the  county  superintendents  permitting  them  to  extend  this  offer  to  all  their  teach- 
ers. In  this  way  2(ih'  letters  have  been  sent,  and  45  replies  requesting  formalin  have 
been  received.  Many  others  will  doubtless  be  heard  from  as  the  schools  have  not 
yet  all  opened,  and  many  do  not  sow-  until  spring. 

It  is  of  course  too  early  yet  to  state  what  results  may  come  through  the  aid  of  the 
schools.  Whether  the  results  rep  >rted  are  accurate  or  not,  it  is  practically  certain  that 
the  formalin  treatment  in  this  way  will  be  brought  before  a  large  number  of  people, 
and  that  it  will  find  people,  possibly  in  a  more  receptive  mood  than  do  the  bulletins 
or  the  farmers'  institutes. 

At  a  cost  of  less  than  15  cents,  2  acres  of  oats  are  treated  in  a  given  school  district 
The  attention  of  all  the  pupils,  and  therefore  all  the  residents  of  the  district,  is  called 
to  the  experiment,  lender  the  guidance  of  the  teacher,  and  with  the  experiment 
conducted  under  the  auspices  of  one  of  the  leading  farmers  of  the  district,  the  success 
of  the  treatment  can  not  fail  to  attract  the  attention  of  all  the  district  and  should 
tend  to  a  saving  of  the  crop  now  lost  through  smut,  which  for  the  year  1809 
amounted  to  about  S247,000. 


166 

As  a  result  of  my  observation  on  cooperative  experiments  so  far,  lam  not  over- 
sanguine  concerning  their  utility  on  a  large  scale  for  the  discovery  of  new  facts. 
Their  accuracy  and  reliability  is  ever  open  to  doubt.     As  a  means  of  demonstration 

of  fact  already   known,  1    believe  that   the  operative  experiments  can  accomplish  as 
much  good  as  either  the  bulletins  or  the  institutes. 

At  this  point  the  following  report  from  E.  M.  Wilcox,  of  Alabama,  chairman  of 
a  special  committee  appointed  at  the  Atlanta  meeting,  was  read  by  the  secretary: 

Your  committee  appointed  at  the  Atlanta  convention  to  consider  the  nomenclature 
of  plant  breeding  begs  leave  to  report  as  follows: 

We  recommend  to  the  section  the  adoption  of  the  new  term  "clon,"  proposed  by 
Dr.  H.  J.  Webber,  to  designate  "groups  of  plants  that  are  propagated  by  the  use  of 
any  form  of  vegetative  parts  such  as  bulbs,  tubers,  cuttings,  grafts,  buds,  etc.,  and 
which  are  simply  parts  of  the  same  individual  seedling." 

Clon  (pronounced  with  long 6)  is  derived  from  the  Creek  word  kXCov,  meaning 
a  twig  or  slip,  such  as  used  for  propagation.  The  adjective  form  would  be  clonal 
and  the  plural  would  be  dons. 

We  recommend  that  the  committee  be  continued  as  a  permanent  committee  of 
the  section  on  the  nomenclature  of  plant  breeding. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

E.  Mead  Wilcox,  Chairman. 

A  motion  was  adopted  expressing  approval  of  the  work  of  the  committee.  The 
committee  was  continued. 

F.  L.  Stevens  then  read  the  paper  given  below,  illustrating  his  remarks  by  means 
of  lantern  slides. 

The  History  oftite  Tobacco  Wilt  in  Granville  County,  North  Carolina." 

The  disease  here  designated  as  the  "Granville  wilt"  has  already  been  the  subject 
of  two  bulletins  of  the  North  Carolina  Experiment  Station,  a  press  bulletin,  and  a 
preliminary  bulletin  numbered  188.  Its  chief  claims  to  interest  lie  in  its  newness, 
its  seriousness,  and  the  apparently  small  area  as  yet  subject  to  it. 

As  the  disease  is  caused  by  a  parasite  distributed  principally  by  soil,  its  invasion 
into  new  territory  is  practically  a  certainty,  unless  some  means  of  control  be  happily 
discovered  or  invented.  Soil  once  affected  is  rendered  useless  for  further  culture  of 
tobacco,  at  least,  unless  a  protracted  period  of  from  ten  to  twenty  years  of  rest  be 
allowed.  The  disease  thus  resembles  the  formidable  wilt  of  the  melon,  cowpea,  and 
cotton. 

While  study  of  the  disease  is  young  and  it  is  unwise  to  generalize,  it  seems  very 
probable  that  the  disease  is  quite  local.  Indeed,  if  it  were  widely  distributed  it 
would  surely  have  crept  into  literature  long  ago,  since  its  exceeding  destructiveness 
and  prominence  in  a  field  once  affected  are  characters  that  lead  to  unenviable  notori- 
ety. Occasional  rumors  of  its  occurrence  reach  us  from  various  sections  of  the  State 
and  United  States,  but  so  far  each  rumor  owes  its  origin  to  a  wilt  of  some  other 
nature,  not  to  a  contagious  wilt  of  this  type.  The  conditions  in  Granville  County 
indicate  that  the  disease  is  spreading  there  from  an  infected  center  still  compara- 
tively small.  While  the  wilt  has  been  known  for  something  like  twenty  years  in 
this  region,  it  is  still  in  its  infancy.  It  presents  an  interesting  case  of  the  invasion 
of  a  State  by  a  highly  contagious  disease  so  recently  that  its  starting  point  and 
progress  may  be  traced  with  reasonable  accuracy.  The  slow  spread  of  the  peach 
yellows  and  rosette  across  the  country  and  the  importation  of  the  hollyhock  rust  are 
similar  instances.  Seldom,  however,  do  we  find  the  place  of  original  infection  so 
definitely  marked  and  the  history  so  well  preserved  as  in  this  instance. 

Three  characters,  viz,  the  wilt,  the  root  rot,  and  the  permanent  soil  infection, 
mark  this  disease  with  sufficient  certainty  to  enable  one  to  collect  the  essential  facts 
of  its  history  in  a  given  community.  The  farmers  of  Granville  County  recognize 
these  essential  characters,  particularly  the  permanent  soil  infection,  and  differentiate 
this  disease  from  its  simulators,  the  sore  shin  and  sporadic  wilts  due  to  other  and 
various  causes. 

From  the  farmers  of  Granville  County  I  have  been  able  to  glean  the  following  his- 
tory: The  wilt  was  first  abundant  enough  to  attract  attention  in  1881  on  the  farm  of 
B.  F.  Stems,  where  all,  or  practically  all,  of  the  plants  died.  From  here  the  infection 
spread  to  the  land  of  .Mr.  S.  T.   Parrott,  across  the  road.     The  disease  was   found   in 

a  See  also  North  Carolina  Sta.  Bui.  L88. 


167 

1891  and  1802  on  the  land  of  S.  A.  Flemming,  further  to  the  cast.  These  fields  were 
visited  by  the  writer  this  year.  They  are  still  infected.  Similarly,  in  L891  and  L892, 
the  disease  was  prevalent  on  the  land  of  .John  O'Brion  and  A.  <i.  Flemming,  near 
Bennehan.  In  the  meantime  the  disease  has  spread  northwest  to  Lyons  and  Knap 
of  Keeds,  and  east  to  Wilton,  and  south  into  Wake  County.  Recently  there  has  been 
a  serious  outbreak  near  Tar  River,  half  of  one  field  being  as  badly  infected  as  any 
near  Creed  mo  re  or  Hester.  This  is  conspicuous,  as  it  is  a  new  center  of  infection 
separated  on  all  sides  by  considerable  distances  from  other  infected  soil. 

In  regions  where  the  chief  money  crop  ninst  be  tobacco;  where  the  soil  in  pre- 
eminently a  tobacco  soil,  the  damage  wrought  by  this  disease  is  very  great.  It  <\<»-< 
not  take  merely  an  occasional  plant,  but  rather  a  majority  of  those  in  the  field.  So 
great  is  the  injury  that  it  may  be  called  practically  complete  destruction  of  the  crop. 

The  disease  resides  in  the  soil.  A  field  with  only  a  few  sick  plants  one  season,  on 
the  next  planting  will  have  many,  and  another  planting  in  tobacco  would  mean  that 
nearly  all  of  the  plants  must  succumb.  The  damage,  therefore,  is  not  measured 
merely  by  the  loss  of  one  crop.  The  greatest  loss  is  the  permanent  injury  to  the 
soil,  prohibiting  further  culture  of  tobacco  unless  some  remedy  be  discovered.  This 
depreciation  in  value  is  evidenced  by  a  decrease,  ranging  from  50  to  75  per  cent,  in 
the  selling  price  or  rental  of  land  when  it  is  known  to  be  infected. 

For  the  sake  of  clearness  I  append  the  following  description: 

DESCRIPTION. 

Tlie  wilting. — The  first  indication  of  the  disease  is  given  through  the  leaves,  which 
droop,  becoming  soft  and  flabby,  as  though  suffering  from  want  of  water.  The 
symptom  is  not  accompanied  by  any  change  in  color,  the  leaves  remaining  green  for 
some  time  after  the  wilt  appears.  As  a  rule  the  lower  leaves  droop  first,  the  wilting 
gradually  proceeding  from  the  ground  upward.  Frequently  the  leaves  on  one  side 
of  the  plant  succumb  earlier  than  those  on  the  other  side.  Some  growers  believe 
that  one  side  of  the  plant  may  occasionally  survive  to  maturity,  though  the  other  side 
be  wilted,  but  that  is  not  usual.  Frequently  even  a  single  leaf  will  show  a  one-sided 
infection.  The  wilted  leaves  soon  die,  dry  up,  and  eventually  the  whole  stalk  dies. 
It  then  remains  standing,  with  its  dead  leaves  still  hanging. 

The  stem. — At  the  stage  of  earliest  wilting  a  section  across  the  stem  shows  a  yel- 
lowish discoloration  of  the  woody  portion.  In  more  advanced  stages,  or  in  sections 
taken  lower  on  the  stem,  the  wood  is  found  either  on  its  inner  or  outer  parts  to  be 
penetrated  longitudinally  by  black  streaks,  varying  in  size  from  that  of  a  cambric 
needle  to  that  of  a  knitting  needle.  These  streaks  are  so  abundant  in  stages  immedi- 
ately preceding  death  that  the  whole  or  nearly  all  of  the  wood  seems  to  be  so  affected. 
Frequently  similar  streaks  penetrate  the  pith,  though  this  is  only  in  the  most 
extreme  cases.  The  black  streaks  in  the  wood  are  usually  more  abundant  adjacent 
to  the  cambium  than  to  the  pith,  and  simply  removing  the  bark  from  near  the  base 
of  sick  plants  discloses  them  in  abundance.  The  blackening  often  progresses  from 
the  wood  outward  through  the  bark,  producing  shrunken,  blackened  patches  on  the 
surface  of  the  stem. 

In  the  most  advanced  stages,  when  all  the  leaves  are  wilting,  the  wood  at  the 
base  of  the  plant  is  blackened  nearly  throughout  the  pith,  and  the  decay  leaves  the 
stem  hollow-  or  filled  with  the  soft  rotten  remains  of  the  pith.  The  bark  near 
the  level  of  the  ground  turns  black  and  becomes  dry  and  hard.  The  pith  in  the 
upper  portion  of  the  plant  usually  dries  up  before  decay  overtakes  it.  This  results 
in  the  collapse  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  plant  in  irregular  longitudinal  folds  in 
parts  where  the  woody  layer  is  too  soft  to  maintain  the  shape  of  the  plant  when  the 
support  of  the  distended  pith  is  withdrawn.  If  a  badly  diseased  plant  be  cut  off 
near  the  ground,  a  dirty  yellowish  exudate  issues  from  the  cut  wood,  accumulating 
in  the  lower  parts  one  or  two  millimeters  long.  This  exudate  is  slightly  viscous, 
hanging  together  in  strands  two  to  four  millimeters  when  picked  with  a  knife. 

The  root. — The  root  seems  to  be  the  seat  of  the  original  infection,  and  any  plant  in 
an  advanced  stage  enough  to  show  symptoms  in  its  foliage  will  be  found  to  possess 
roots  already  in  an  advanced  stage  of  decay.  In  early  stages  one  root  or  more  may 
be  diseased;  in  later  stages  all  succumb.  In  the  more  advanced  stages  of  disease  in 
any  root  the  bark  is  soft  and  dry,  a  spongy  mass  of  fiber  left  by  the  decay  of  the  more 
watery  parts.  In  the  worst  cases  even  this  sp<  >ngy  covering  may  drop  off,  leaving  the 
wood  of  the  root  bare.  Usually,  however,  the  bark  remains  as  a  spongy  layer,  sur- 
rounded by  a  papery  jacket  more  or  less  cracked  transversely,  the  remains  of  the  epi- 
dermis. The  wood  of  the  root  undergoes  changes  similar  to  those  of  the  stem.  In 
the  root,  as  in  the  stem,  the  disease  manifests  itself  earlier  in  the  wood  than  in  the 
bark,  appearing  first  as  longitudinal  streaks  of  black  in  that  portion  of  the  woody 


168 

cylinder  lying  close  to  the  bark.  The  disease  is  most  conspicuous  in  the  largest 
roots,  but  the  smallest  fibers,  upon  close  examination,  are  seen  to  be  similarly  affected. 
In  cases  where  the  woody  cylinder  is  blackened  before  the  adjacent  bark  shows  injury 
the  smaller  feeding  roots  passing  from  the  diseased  wood  through  the  still  healthy 
bark  die,  being  either  directly  infected  by  the  wood  connecting  the  two,  or  succumbing 
first  and  then  conveying  infection  to  the  main  root. 

R.  E.  B.  McKenney,  of  the  U.  8.  Department  of  Agriculture,  called  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  same  disease  is  undoubtedly  present  in  other  sections  of  the  country 
where  tobacco  is  grown. 

M.  A.  Carieton,  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  gave  a  brief  discussion  of 
the  methods  of  keeping  records  and  notes  on  the  work  in  cereal  investigations.  Sev- 
eral blank  books  used  for  the  purpose  were  exhibited.  The  plans  adopted  systema- 
tize the  work  of  note  taking  and  record  keeping  and  appealed  to  those  present  as 
being  a  remarkable  advance  along  these  lines. 

The  following  paper,  prepared  by  L.  H.  Pammel,  of  Iowa,  was  then  read  by  the 
secretary : 

Botany  in  the  Agricultural  Colleges. 

The  committee  on  methods  of  teaching  agriculture,  in  its  several  reports  made  to 
the  Association  of  the  American  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations,  after 
considerable  study,  has  made  certain  recommendations  with  reference  to  the  amount 
of  work  to  be  done  or  required  of  students  taking  the  four  years'  course  in  agricul- 
ture. In  the  second  report"  the  committee  makes  the  following  suggestion  as  to  the 
total  number  of  hours  required  in  the  four  years'  course,  allowing  fifteen  hours  per 
week  for  thirty-six  weeks,  with  ten  hours  laboratory  work  or  practicums,  making  a 
total  of  three  thousand  six  hundred  hours: 

Hours.  Hours. 

Algebra 75     Psychology 60 

Geometry 40     Ethics  and  logic 40 

Trigonometry 40     Political  economy 60 

Physics  (class-room  work ) 75     General  history 80 

Physics  (laboratory  work) 75     English 200 

Chemistry  ( class-room  work ) 75     Constitutional  law 50 

Chemistry  ( laboratorv  work ) 75  

Modern  languages 340                Total 1, 285 

And  the  committee  suggests  the  following  additional  subjects: 

Hours. 

Agriculture 496 

Horticulture  and  forestry 180 

Veterinary  science,  including  anatomy 1 80 

Agricultural  chemistry  in  addition  to  general  chemistry 180 

Botany,  including  vegetable  physiology  and  pathology 180 

Zoology,  including  entomology 120 

Phvsiologv " 180 

Geology 120 

Meteorology 60 

Drawing 60 


Total 1,  746 

Under  the  term  "agriculture"  they  include  the  following: 

Hours. 

Agronomy,  or  plant  production 132 

Zootechny,  or  animal  industry 162 

Agrotechny,  or  agricultural  technology 72 

Rural  engineering,  or  farm  mechanics 60 

Rural  economics,  or  farm  management 60 


Total 486 


«U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  Circ.  37,  p.  1. 


169 


It  is  very  evident  that  in  some  agricultural  courses  more  botany  should  be  required 

than  in  otters.     It  seen  is  to  me  thai  we  must  also  take  into  consideration  the  a unl 

of  preparation  a  student  has  had  before  entering  college.  Nearly  all  of  the  colleges, 
or  the  better  colleges,  at  least,  require  one  term's  botany  equivalent  t<»  about  fifty  <>r 
sixty  hours  of  elementary  botany  for  entrance  t<>  the  freshman  class,  covered  by  a 
study  of  such  a  hook  as  Bergen's  Foundations  of  Botany,  Atkinson's  Elementary 
Botany,  Leavitt's  Outlines  of  Botany,  or  Coulter's  Plant  studies. 

Taking  some  of  the  different  agricultural  colleges,  I  find  the  following  requirements 
in  botany  for  some  of  the  different  courses  in  agriculture: 

Table  showing  number  of  hours  of  botany  required  in  the  different  agricultural  colleges  and 
universities  where  the  agricultural  college  is  connected  with  them. 


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CO 



60 

24 

General  comparative  morphol- 

96 

Histology  and  physiology 

Morphology 

90 
90 

76 

h  63 

CO 
117 

362 



a(l)  Agronomy  division;  (2)  horticulture  division;  (3)  dairying  division;  (4)  animal  husbandry 
division. 
'-These  are  total  hours,  not  class  hours  alone. 
c(l)  General  agriculture  group:  (2)  horticulture  group, 
rt Sophomore  year. 
e  Junior  year. 

/Agricultural  botany,  through  entire  freshman  year. 
9  Senior  year. 
h  Includes  ecology. 

There  seems  to  he  a  lack  of  uniformity  in  the  botany  required  in  these  different 
institutions.  In  some  cases  the  amount  required  seems  to  be  wholly  inadequate.  In 
the  group  in  animal  hushandry  especial  attention  should  he  given  to  those  topics  which 
are  of  special  importance  in  connection  with  animal  husbandry  work.  First  of  all  the 
student  should  be  made  familiar  with  the  general  principles  of  botany.  There  should 
be  at  least  a  semester  of  five  hours  per  week,  followed  up,  say,  by  half  a  semester  of  two 
hours  per  week,  on  the  subject  of  diseases  of  plants,  especially  as  the  subject  is  allied 
to  the  animal  husbandry  work,  followed  up  by  a  course  in  bacteriology  and  later 
giving  special  attention  to  the  subject  of  grasses,  as  they  form  so  large  a  part  of  the 
nutrition  of  animals.  The  student  taking  this  work  should  also  become  familiar  with 
poisonous  plants.  In  the  group  in  agronomy  several  of  the  colleges  are  now  giving 
this  work.  The  foundation  work  should  be  much  the  same  as  in  animal  husbandry, 
followed  up  by  more  specific  work  along  the  lines  of  histology,  cytology,  and  system- 
atic botany.  Under  this  head  I  would  include  a  study  of  the  life  history  of  the 
more  important  flowering  plants  and  cryptogams.  This  should  be  followed  by  a  g«  ><  »d 
course  in^vegetable  physiology  supplemented  by  a  strong  course  in  vegetal  >le  pathology. 
In  fact,  too  little  work  is  given  in  our  agricultural  colleges  along  both  of  these  lines. 
The  man  who  studies  agronomy  should  also  take  a  course  in  seed  testing  and  the 
adulteration  of  seeds  and  grasses;  in  fact,  the  course  in  agronomy  needs  to  he  especially 
strong  along  botanical  lines.  What  applies  to  the  work  along  the  line  of  agronomy 
might  also  apply  to  the  group  in  horticulture.  Here  botany  should  he  especially 
emphasized.  Plant  breeding  should  be  especially  emphasized  along  with  the  other 
lines  of  work. 


170 

The  group  in  dairying  need  not  necessarily  be  very  much  different  from  the  group 
in  animal  husbandry,  l>ut  one  of  the  more  important  considerations  in  these  agri- 
cultural colleges  is  the  establishment  of  courses  in  chemical  engineering  in  which 
chemical  and  botanical  problems  should  be  considered  in  their  broadest  scope. 
What  we  need  at  this  time  should  be  Borne  uniformity  of  requirements  for  the  various 
courses  in  the  different  agricultural  colleges.  Itseems  to  me  that  a  committee  might 
well  be  named  to  look  over  this  work  and  report  on  what  is  needed  and  wdiat  should 
be  given  in  the  way  of  instruction  and  entrance  requirements.  It  seems  to  me  we 
should  ever  bear  in  mind  that  botany  can  be  of  distinctive  service  both  to  science 
and  the  practical  man  by  combining  the  theoretical  with  practical  instruction.  The 
mere  veneer  study  can  not  long  stand  the  test  of  time.  It  must  be  backed  up  with 
a  good  substantial  foundation.  The  object  of  a  course  is  to  prepare  and  tit  the 
young  student  for  the  duties  of  life.  He  should,  therefore,  have  a  broad  and  liberal 
education  embodying  enough  of  general  information  to  make  him  a  good  citizen. 

The  following  paper  was  read  by  H.  Metcalf,  of  South  Carolina: 
The  Foundations  of  Agricultural  Teaching. 

The  value  of  continuity  in  any  course  of  study  has  become  a  truism  in  pedagogy. 
A  single  subject  pursued  for  a  considerable  time  has  more  educative  value  than 
several  separate  subjects  to  which  the  same  aggregate  of  time  is  given.  The  classical 
college  course  of  the  old  type  derived  its  greatest  merit  from  the  fact  that  it  com- 
pelled a  student  to  devote  from  five  to  eight  consecutive  years  to  one  subject.  In  the 
more  liberal  college  curricula  of  the  present  day  the  principle  is  fully  recognized. 
Either  certain  subjects  are  required  for  more  than  one  year,  or  the  student  is  required 
to  elect  someone  major  subject  around  which  his  other  electives  must  to  some  extent 
center.  In  technical  education  we  find  the  principle  fully  recognized;  every  course 
has  some  one  subject,  which,  whether  of  practical  application  or  not,  is  the  educa- 
tional piece  de  resistance  of  the  whole  course.  In  civil  and  mechanical  engineering 
this  course  is  mathematics;  in  electrical  engineering  it  is  mathematics  or  physics;  in 
medicine  it  is  animal  biology ;  in  the  various  chemical  industries  it  is  pure  chemistry. 

We  may  well  inquire  what  are  the  characters  which  give  these  courses  their 
prominent  positions. 

In  the  first  place,  they  are  subjects  of  unchallenged  training  value — excellent 
grindstones  for  the  mental  edged  tools.  They  present  problems  or  better  experi- 
ments to  be  worked  out  directly  by  the  student.  In  other  words,  though  they  may 
impart  information,  they  are  not  merely  informational.  The  problems  or  experi- 
ments are  directly  under  the  control  of  the  student  and  not  subject  to  accidental  and 
incidental  conditions;  and,  above  all,  the  problems  and  experiments  are  simple  at  the 
outset  and  grow  naturally  and  logically  more  complex.  They  are,  furthermore, 
exact  subjects,  at  least  within  certain  limits;  they  are  directly  related  in  spirit  and 
method  to  the  art  or  industry  which  the  student  expects  to  pursue;  and  to  some 
extent  their  principles  are  directly  utilized  in  that  art  or  industry.  The  most  impor- 
tant consideration  of  all  is:  The  subjects  train  in  scientific  method  and  logical  habit 
of  thought,  and  are  pursued  long  enough  to  give  the  student  a  certain  mastery  over 
them  and  facility  in  their  use. 

But  in  agriculture  we  have  no  such  course.  We  note  with  pride  that  the  course  in 
agriculture  is  becoming  so  diversified  and  specialized,  but  fail  to  see  that  herein  lies 
the  greatest  danger  from  the  teacher's  standpoint,  Ten  times  one  does  not  make  ten 
in  pedagogy.  Agriculture  draws  its  data  from  so  many  sciences  that  a  course  in  agri- 
culture, no  matter  how  carefully  the  agricultural  standpoint  is  kept  before  the  student, 
does  not.  have  the  educational  value  of  the  same  amount  of  time  spent  on  a  really 
unified  subject.  Practical  agriculture  must  be  the  soul  and  center  of  the  agricultural 
course,  and  the  students  must  give  the  bulk  of  their  time  to  it;  no  other  science  or 
combination  of  sciences  can  replace  it.  Yet  we  can  not  close  our  eyes  to  its  grave 
pedagogical  deficiencies.  In  addition  to  the  lack  of  continuity  already  indicated, 
agriculture,  as  now  taught,  is  made  largely  informational;  much  of  its  data  is 
empirical;  its  experiments  are  too  complicated  and  too  much  governed  by  accidental 
circumstances  (e.  g.,  the  weather)  to  set  forth  effectively  the  principles  of  scientific 
method. 

In  certain  colleges  all  this  appears  to  be  fully  recognized,  and  the  situation  is  met 
by  requiring  a  continuous  course  in  some  one  strictly  scientific  subject,  usually  chem- 
istry. Beyond  question  chemistry  is,  in  itself,  the  most  efficient  training  subject  in 
the  agricultural  curriculum.  It  is  an  exact  science,  of  unchallenged  cultural  value, 
logical  in  treatment,  and  no  better  exponent  of  scientific  method  can  be  found. 
But  it  has  little  immediate  bearing  on  agriculture;  and  too  great  emphasis  upon  it  or 
upon  any  other  single  science  apart  from  agriculture  detracts  from  the  unity  of  the 
course. 


171 

In  other  institutions  there  is  an  even  stronger  tendency  toward  making  the  agri- 
cultural course  like  any  other  college  course,  with  simply  a  veneer  of  agriculture, 
perhaps  in  the  last  two  years.  The  students  are  taught  everything  aboul  agriculture, 
but  no  agriculture.  This  tendency  is,  to  my  mind,  utterly  deplorable.  If  there  is 
not  educational  stamina  in  agriculture  enough  to  develop  an  effective  course  in  which 
agriculture  holds  the  fundamental  and  most   prominent  place  from  the  beginning  to 

the  end.  then  the  whole  system  of  agricultural  education  should  he  gives  up. 

lint  may  there  not  be  a  way  <>f  securing  for  the  agricultural  curriculum  a  funda- 
mental course  of  high  educational  value,  which  at  the  same  time  will  not  detract 
from  the  unity  of  the  whole  curriculum?  J  believe  that  it  is  possible  for  the 
botanist  to  develop  a  course  in  agricultural  botany  capable  of  taking  as  prominent  a 
place  in  agriculture  as  is  held  by  mat  hematics  in  engineering  and  that  w  ithout  detract- 
ing from  the  unity  of  the  whole  course,  but  instead  adding  to  it.  This  is  a  daring 
proposition,  especially  when  we  remember  how  relatively  insignificant  is  the  present 
development  of  botany  in  the  agricultural  colleges.  Yei.  is  the  botanical  course,  as 
at  present  developed,  deserving  of  any  greater  prominence  than  it  has'.'  This  ques- 
tion is  exceedingly  difficult  to  answer,  since  there  has  been  no  public  expression  of 
the  botany  course  in  the  agricultural  college,  either  in  the  shape  of  a  text-book,  or 
even  a  general  discussion  of  method.  If  we  look  to  the  general  botanical  texts  now 
in  print,  our  answer  must  certainly  be  negative. 

Botanical  teaching  in  America  has  developed  along  three  lines.  For  our  present 
purposes  we  need  consider  as  examples  only  the  books  containing  laboratory 
directions.  While  some  of  the  text-books — e.  g.,  those  of  Gray  and  of  Bessey — have 
profoundly  influenced  teaching,  they  are  not  as  definite  exponents  of  method  as  the 
lal  x  tratory  manuals. 

First  in  order  was  developed  the  course  which  is  principally  devoted  to  the  Beed 
plants  and  may  lead  to  the  analysis  of  plants.  The  most  definite  expression  of  this 
school  is  Setchell's  Laboratory  Practice  for  Beginners. 

The  second  is  the  course  which  consists  of  type  studies,  beginning  with  the 
protophytes;  hence  devoted  almost  exclusively  to  the  cry ptogan is.  This  method  has 
received  its  most  typical  treatment  in  Campbell's  Structural  and  Systematic  Botany. 

The  third,  which  might  be  termed  the  impressionistic,  method  in  botany,  is  based 
upon  ecology;  it  has  been  thoroughly  exploited  in  Coulter's  text-books,  but  has 
found  its  most  definite  expression  in  a  little  known  pamphlet  by  C.  H.  Robison, 
entitled  Field  Studies  of  Some  Common  Plants. 

.Many  recent  text-books  are  combinations  or  compromises  between  these  methods, 
e.  g.,  those  of  Bergen  and  Leavitt  and  the  pedagogical  discussions  of  ( ianong.  Perhaps 
the  only  book  that  can  not  be  fitted  into  an  old  niche  is  MacDougal's  Nature  and 
Work  of  Plants — the  most  original,  and,  perhaps,  it  is  not  unjust  to  say,  the  only 
original  laboratory  manual  that  has  appeared  in  many  years.  From  this  and  i  k  >ssibly 
from  another  book,  which  is  not  a  botany — Hodge's  Nature  Study  and  Life — we  may 
glean  suggestions;  but  Ave  look  in  vain  to  any  book  now  before  the  public  for  any- 
thing more  definite  than  suggestions  as  to  a  fit  course  in  botany  for  the  agricultural 
college.  Nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  if  botany  is  to  take  its  proper  place  in 
the  agricultural  course,  Ave  must  develop,  de  novo,  a  botanical  method  suited  to  our 
special  needs.  And  it  is  probable  that  when  this  botany  is  developed  it  will  also 
prove  better  adapted  to  secondary  school  use  than  any  existing  course.  As  to  what 
must  be  the  content  and  method  of  this  new  botany,  each  teacher  must  determine 
by  his  own  experience.     I  venture  to  make  the  following  general  suggestions: 

(1 )  The  course  should  be  presented  absolutely  from  the  standpoint  of  agriculture 
and  as  an  integral  part  of  the  agricultural  course.  The  bearing  of  each  fact  and 
theory  upon  agricultural  processes  should  be  emphasized.  The  aim  of  the  course 
should  be  to  present  the  facts  of  plant  life  which  underlie  plant  production;  in  other 
words,  to  explain  the  immediate  phenomena  of  agriculture,  in  so  far  as  those 
phenomena  can  be  explained,  by  reference  to  the  plant;  and  in  so  far  as  such 
problems  have  been  explained  at  all  by  investigation  to  date. 

(2)  The  cultivated  plants  should  be  the  primary  objects  of  study:  if  the  native 
flora  is  introduced  at  all  it  should  be  only  those  plants  that  are  of  economic  interest. 
This  Avould  mean  that  the  student  would  acquire  a  minute  familiar  knowledge  of 
the  common  crop  plants.  The  cryptogams  should  be  studied  from  the  broad  stand- 
point of  what  they  do,  before  their  morphology  is  considered.  For  example,  an 
exhaustive  study  can  be  made  of  the  phenomena  of  fermentation,  without  raising 
the  question  as  to  the  form  of  an  individual  yeast  plant  or  bacterium.  In  general, 
the  naked-eye  characters,  morphological  and  physiological,  should  be  studied  before 
the  microscopical. 

(3)  Throughout  the  course  experiments  should  not  be  presented  as  facts  to  be 
verified,  but  definite  questions  should  be  asked  (and  not  leading  questions),  which 
the  student  should  answer  from  the  results  of  the  experiment.  Nor  should  descrip- 
tive definitions  be  given  in  words,  but  deduced  from  observation  and  expressed  in 


172 

the  student's  own  language.  In  a  word,  experiments  and  observations  should  be 
conducted  in  such  a  way  as  to  exemplify  every  phase  of  scientific  method.  The 
student  should  be  taughl  how  to  experiment  and  how  to  observe,  how  to  check 
results  and  eliminate  all  possible  error.  This  should  he  made  as  prominent  as 
possible  without  actually  teaching  the  logic  of  scientific  method  as  such. 

(4)  Necessarily  a  course  which  aims  to  explain  the  fundamental  phenomena  of 
plant  production  must  give  great  prominence  to  physiology.  Very  simple  experi- 
ments suffice  for  the  first  year's  work;  later  in  the  course  greenhouse  facilities  and 
moderately  elaborate  apparatus  would  he  necessary.  Next  to  physiology,  descriptive 
and  systematic  work  is  of  the  most  value.  I  should  personally  advocate  the  giving 
over  of  the  la.st  third  of  the  first  year's  course  to  this  and  as  large  a  proportion  of  the 
whole  course.  A  practical  difficulty  here  exists,  in  that  we  have  no  manual  contain- 
ing the  majority  of  the  cultivated  plants.  This  lack  in  our  botanical  literature  should 
be  supplied. 

(5)  The  course  should  be  continuous  throughout  the  four  years' course,  including 
those  courses  more  often  taught  separately  from  botany  under  the  names  of  bacteri- 
ology, plant  pathology,  agrostology,  etc. 

A  course  fulfilling  these  requirements  and  presented  coherently,  as  one  subject 
and  with  one  method,  would  supply  what  is  at  present  lacking — an  educational 
backbone  for  the  agricultural  course.  It  would  be  part  and  parcel  of  the  work  in 
practical  agriculture,  supplementing  and  explaining  it  at  every  step.  It  would  react 
favorably  toward  botanical  science,  tending  to  develop  investigation  in  a  neglected 
field;  at  the  same  time  it  would  greatly  enlarge  the  material  aspects  of  botany. 

In  our  agricultural  education  we  are  too  prone  to  overlook  pedagogical  (piestions 
in  the  absorbing  interest  of  a  technical  subject.  This  tendency  is  to  he  deprecated. 
Why  is  it,  with  pedagogical  journals  on  the  increase  and  with  agricultural  educa- 
tion continually  more  popular,  'hat  we  find  so  few  discussions  of  the  special  prob- 
lems of  agricultural  education?  But,  better  than  discussions,  which  must  necessarily 
deal  largely  in  glittering  generalities,  would  be  the  publication  from  agricultural 
teachers  of  definite  text-books  adapted  to  their  peculiar  work;  and  especially  wel- 
come would  be  a  few  laboratory  manuals  from  the  botanists,  presenting  in  detail  the 
methods  actually  in  use. 

Some  subject  is  bound  to  be  developed  to  complete  the  unification  of  the  agricul- 
tural course  and  lake  the  leading  educational  place.  Botany  is  naturally  qualified 
for  this  position;  whether  it  will  take  it  or  not  depends  upon  its  pedagogic  develop- 
ment in  the  next  few  years.  This  is  by  all  odds  the  greatest  problem  and  the 
greatest  opportunity  now  before  the  teaching  botanist, 

A.  F.  Woods,  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  chairman  of  a  committee 
appointed  at  the  last  convention  to  report  on  introductory  courses  in  botany,  pre- 
sented the  report  of  the  committee  as  follows: 

Introductory  Courses  in  Botany. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Association  of  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment 
Stations  the  Section  of  Horticulture  and  Botany  passed  the  following  resolution: 

11  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  by  the  chair  to  prepare  and 
report  to  1  his  section  one  year  hence  an  outline  of  what  might  be  considered  an  ideal 
introductory  course  in  botany,  designed  for  students  of  agricultural  colleges — one 
that  shall  constitute  a  scientific  basis  for  further  work  in  applied  botany." 

The  committee  appointed  was  as  follows:  A.  F.  Woods,  F.  A.  Waugh,  and  E.  M. 
Wilcox,  with  a  special  advisory  committee  consisting  of  E.  C.  Bessey,  and  G.  F. 
Atkinson. 

In  his  letter  naming  the  committee  Professor  Craig  added  the  following  explana- 
tion: 

"The  purpose  <>f  the  resolution  was  to  bring  before  the  section  next  year  for  dis- 
cussion the  subject  of  beginning  courses  in  botany.  Horticulturists  are  warmly 
interested,  especially  in  colleges  where  students  take  up  horticulture  prior  to  the 
junior  year.  It  was  the  belief  of  those  representing  horticulture  and  botany  at  the 
recent  meeting  that  a  tentative  outline,  prepared  by  a  committee  and  offered  next 
year,  showing  the  sequence  of  courses  in  botany,  would  prove  a  profitable  subject  to 
discuss." 

The  object  of  a  general  elementary  course  in  botany  should  be  to  develop  in  the 
student  an  accurate,  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  life  and  relationship  of  plants. 
He  must  be  taught  how  to  study  and  interpret  them.  This  involves,  tirst,  an  ele- 
mentary, introductory,  or  fundamental  course,  which  should  cover  essentially  the 
same  ground,  whether  in  common  school,  preparatory  school,  or  college.  What  should 
such  a  course  include,  and  how  long  a  time  should  be  devoted  to  it?  I  n  answering 
these  questions  we  desire  first  to  call  attention  to  the  third  report  of  a  committee 


173 

appointed  by  the  Society  for  riant  Morphology  and  Phygiology  to  consider  the  for- 
mulation of  a  standard  college  entrance  option  in  botany.  The  full-year  option  rec- 
ommended in  that  report  was  formally  adopted  by  the  college  entrance  examination 
hoard  (formerly  of  the  Middle  States  and  Maryland)  in  December,  L901.  The  prin- 
ciples upon  which  the  course  was  formulated  are  Stated  in  the  report  essentially  as 
follows: 

(1)  It  is  founded  upon  the  two  important  reports  of  the  National  Educational  Asso- 

ciation—-the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  (Washington,  L893),  and  the 
Report  on  College  Entrance  Requirements  (Chicago,  L899 

(2)  It  is  intended  primarily  as  an  option  for  entrance  to  college,  hut  equally  for  the 

education  in  the  high  school  of  the  general  student  who  can  follow  the  sub- 
ject HO  farther:  there  are  in  botany  no  advantages  in  having  the  college  pre- 
paratory and  the  general  educational  courses  different,  at  least  none  that  are 

at  all  commensurate  with  the  additional  burden  thus  laid  upon  the  schools. 

(3)  It  should,  if  possible,  he  founded  upon  a  considerable  body  of  botanical  fact 

learned  through  "nature  study"  in  the  lower  schools;  it  should  form  pari  of 
a  four-years'  high-school  course  in  the  sciences;  it  should  he  considered  and 
treated  as  an  elementary  or  preliminary  course  leading  to  second  courses  in 
college,  and  colleges  accepting  the  option  should  make  provision  to  articulate 
•    second  courses  economically  with  it. 

(4)  The  immediate  plan  of  its  construction  is  very  simple,  namely,  to  include  those 

topics  in  the  leading  divisions  of  the  subject  which  most  teachers  now  regard 
as  fundamental,  either  for  their  value  in  scientific  training,  or  as  knowledge; 
but  the  individual  teacher  is  left  free  to  follow  his  own  judgment  as  to  sequence 
of  topics,  text  and  other  books,  and  special  methods.  Advice  is  occasionally 
offered,  however,  upon  important  points  in  which  most  teachers  are  now- 
known  to  agree. 

(5)  It  recognizes  the  existence  of,  and  provides  for,  two  modes  of  procedure  in  the 

sequence  of  topics.  In  one,  that  here  advised,  the  general  principles  of  plant 
structure  and  function,  permitting  a  beginning  with  large  and  familiar  objects 
and  phenomena,  are  first  studied,  to  be  followed  later  by  a  study  of  representa- 
tives of  the  groups  of  plants  from  the  lower  to  the  higher;  the  other  makes 
the  study  of  the  groups  the  backbone,  as  it  were,  of  the  course,  beginning 
with  the  lowest  forms  and  introducing  the  physiological  and  morphological 
topics  at  appropriate  places  in  the  ascending  series.  The  two  modes,  however, 
lead  to  substantially  the  same  result,  and  a  common  examination  is  practicable 
for  both. 

(6)  It  is  designed  to  yield  a  mental  discipline  fully  equal  in  quality  and  quantity  to 

that  yielded  by  any  other  subject  studied  for  the  same  length  of  time. 

(7)  The  time  per  week,  inclusive  of  recitation,  preparation,  and  laboratory,  should 

be  the  same  as  for  any  other  subject.  Where  five  periods  a  week,  with  an 
hour  of  preparation  for  each,  are  demanded  for  other  studies,  this  course 
should  receive  the  equivalent  of  two  recitation  periods  with  their  preparation, 
together  with  three  double  (not  six  separated)  periods  in  the  laboratory  and 
a  small  amount  of  outside  work  or  preparation.  Variation  from  this  should 
be  toward  a  greater,  not  a  lesser,  proportion  of  laboratory  work.  The  prepara- 
tion of  records  of  the  laboratory  work,  in  which  stress  is  laid  upon  diagram- 
matically  accurate  drawing  and  precise  aud  expressive  description,  is  re- 
garded as  an  integral  part  of  the  course. 

The  specifications  for  the  full-year  option  are: 

(I)  A  half  year  devoted  to  the  general  principles  of  anatomy,  morphology,  physiol- 

ogy, and  ecology. 

(II)  A  half  year  devoted  to  the  natural  history  of  the  plant  groups,  with  classifica- 

tion. 

The  full-year  option  may  consist  of  II  enlarged  to  a  year  and  including  the  essen- 
tials of  I.     (See  principle  5  above. ) 

I.  The  Half  Year  in  the  General  Principles  of  Anatomy,  Morphology,  Physi- 
ology, and  Ecology. 

The  fundamental  topics  are  presented  in  the  report  as  follows: 
A.  In  Anatomy  and  Morphology. 

The  seed.  Four  types  (dicotyledon  without  and  with  endosperm,  a  monoco- 
tyledon, and  a  gymnosperm ) ;  structure  and  homologous  parts.  Food  supply; 
experimental  determination  of  its  nature  and  value.  Phenomena  of  germi- 
nation and  growth  of  embryo  into  a  seedling  (including  bursting  from  the 
seed,  assumption  of  position,  and  unfolding  of  parts). 


174 

A.  In  Anatomy  and  Morphology — Continued. 

The  shoot.  Gross  anatomy  of  a  typical  shoot,  including  the  relationships  of 
position  of  leaf,  stem  (and  root),  the  arrangement  of  leaves  and  buds  on  the 
stem,  and  deviations  (through  light  adjustment,  etc  )  from  symmetry. 

Buds,  and  the  mode  of  origin  of  new  leaf  and  stem;  winter  buds  in  par- 
ticular. 
Specialized  and  metamorphosed  shoots  (stems  and  leaves). 
General    structure   and    distribution  of   the    leading  tissues  of  the  shoot; 
annual  growth;  shedding  of  bark  and  leaves. 
The  root.     Gross  anatomy  of  a  typical  root;   position  and  origin  of  secondary 
roots;   hail- zone,  cap,  and  growing  point.      Specialized  and   metamorphosed 
roots.     General  structure  and  distribution  of  the  leading  tissues  of  the  root. 
The  flower.     Structure  of  atypical  flower,  especiallyof  ovule  and  pollen;  func- 
tions of  the  parts.     Comparative  morphological  study  of  six  or  more  different 
marked  types,  with  the  construction  of  transverse  and  longitudinal  diagrams. 
The  fruit.     Structure  of  atypical  fruit,  especially  with  reference  to  changes  from 
the  flower,  and  from  ovule  to  seeds.     Comparative  morphological  study  of  six 
or  more  marked  types,  with  diagrams. 
This  comparative  morphological  study  of  flowers  and  fruits  may  advanta- 
geously be  postponed  to  the  end  of  II,  and  then  taken  up  in  connection 
with  classification  of  the  angiosperms. 
The  cell.     Cytoplasm,  nucleus,  sap  cavity,  wall.      Adaptive  modifications  of 
walls,  formation  of  tissues. 
As  to  the  study  of  the  cell,  it  is  by  no  means  to  be  postponed  for  considera- 
tion by  itself  after  the  other  topics,  as  its  position  in  the  above  outline  may 
seem  to  imply,  but  it  is  to  be  brought  in  earlier  along  with  the  study  of 
the  shoot  or  root,  and  continued  from  topic  to  topic.     Although  enough 
study  of  the  individual  cell  is  to  be  made  to  give  an  idea  of  its  structure 
(a  study  which  may  very  advantageously  be  associated  with  the  physio- 
logical topics  mentioned  first  under  13),  the  principal  microscopical  work 
should  consist  in  the  recognition  and  study  of  the  distribution  of  the  lead- 
ing tissues. 

B.  In  Physiology. 

Role  of  water  in  the  plant;  absorption  {osmosis),  path  of  transfer,  transpiration, 

turgidity  and  its  mechanical  value,  plasmolysis. 
Photosynthesis;  dependence  of  starch  formation  uj>on  chlorophyll,  light  and  carbon 

dioxid;  evolution  of  oxygen,  observation  of  starch  grains. 
Respiration;  necessity  for  oxygen  ingrowth,  evolution  of  carbon  dioxid. 
Digestion;  digestion,  of  starch  with  dins/ox,'  and  its  role  in  translocation  of  foods. 
Irritability;  geotropism,  heliotropism,  and  hydrotropism;  nature  of  stimulus  and 

response. 
Growth;  localization   in  higher  plants;  amount  in  germinating  seeds  and   stems; 

relationships  to  temperature. 
Fertilization;  sexual  and  vegetative  reproduction. 

Although  for  convenience  of  reference,  the  physiological  topics  are  here 
grouped  together,  they  should  by  no  means  be  studied  by  themselves  and 
apart  from  anatomy  and  morphology.  On  the  contrary,  they  should  be 
taken  up  along  with  the  study  of  the  structures  in  which  the  processes 
occur,  and  which  they  help  to  explain;  thus,  photosynthesis  should  be 
studied  with  the  leaf,  as  should  also  transpiration,  while  digestion  may  best 
come  with  germination,  osmotic  absorption  with  the  root,  and  so  on.  The 
student  should  either  try,  or  at  least  aid  in  trying,  experiments  to  demon- 
strate the  fundamental  processes  indicated  above  in  italics. 

C.  In  Ecology. 

Modifications  (metamorphoses)  of  parts  for  special  functions. 

Dissemination. 

Cross-pollination. 

Light  relations  of  green  tissues;  leaf  mosaics. 

Plant  societies;  mesophytes,  hydrophytes,  halophytes,  xerophytes;  climbers, 
epiphytes,  parasites  (and saprophytes),  insectivora. 

Plant  associations  and  zonal  distribution. 

The  topics  in  ecology  (particularly  the  first  four  and  in  part  the  fifth)  like 
those  iu  physiology,  are  to  be  studied  not  by  themselves,  but.  along  with  the 
structures  with  which  they  are  most  closely  connected,  as  cross-pollination 
with  the  (lower,  dissemination  with  the  seed,  etc.  The  fifth  and  sixth  may 
most  advantageously  be  studied  with  G  in  Part  II. 


175 

C.  Ecology — Continued. 

Plant  associations  and  zonal  distribution — Continued. 

In  this  connection  field  work  is  of  great  importance,  and  for  some  topics, 
such  as  the  sixth,  is  indispensable,  though  much  may  be  done  also  with 
potted  plants  in  greenhouses,  photographs,  and  museum  specimens.  It  is 
strongly  recommended  that  some  systematic  field  work  be  considered  a-  an 
integral  pari  of  the  course,  coordinate  in  definiteness  and  value  as  tar  as  it 
goes  with  the  laboratory  work.  The  temptations  to  haziness  and  guessing 
in  ecology  must  be  combated. 

II.  The  Half  Yeak  ix  the  Natural  History  of  the  Plant  Groups  \m>  Clas- 
sification. 
A  comprehensive  summary  of  the  great  natural  groups  of  plant-,  based  upon 
the  thorough  study  of  the  structure,  reproduction  and  adaptations  to 
habitat  of  one  <>r  two  types  from  cadi  group,  supplemented  and  extended 
by-more  rapid  study  of  other  forms  in  those  groups.  When'  living  mate- 
rial is  wanting  for  the  latter,  preserved  material  and  even  good  pictures 
may  be  used,  and  a  standard  text-book  should  be  thoroughly  read.  The 
general  homologies  from  group  to  group  should  be  understood.  In  gen- 
eral,  in  this  part  of  the  course,  it  is  recommended  that  much  less  attention 
be  given  to  the  lower  and  inconspicuous  groups,  and  progressively  more 
to  the  higher  and  conspicuous  forms. 

Following  is  a  list  of  recommended  types  from  which,  or  their  equiva- 
lents, selection  may  be  made: 

A.  Alga?.     Pleurococcus,  Sphserella,   Spirogyra,   Vaucheria,    Fucus,    Nemalion    (or 

Batrachosperum  or  Polysiphonia  or  Coleochaete). 

B.  Fungi.     Bacteria,   Rhizopus,  Yeast,  Puccinia  (or  any  powdery  mildew),  Mush- 

room. 

Bacteria  and  yeast  have  obvious  disadvantages  in  such  a  course,  but  their 
great  economic  prominence  may  justify  their  introduction. 

C.  Lichens.     Physcia  (or  Parmelia). 

D.  Bryophytes.     In  Hepaticse,  Radula  (or  Porella  or  Alarchantia). 

In  Musci,  Mnium  (or  Funaria  or  Polytrichium): 

E.  Pteridophytes.     In  Filicinese,  Aspidium  or  equivalent,  including,  of  course,  the 

Prothaliium. 
In  Equisetinere,  Equisetum. 
In  Lycopodinea1,  Lycopodium  and  Selaginella  (or  Isoetes.. 

F.  (Tymnosperms.     Pinus  or  equivalent. 

G.  Angiosperms.  A  monocotyledon  and  a  dicotyledon,  to  be  studied  with  reference 
to  the  homologies  of  their  parts  with  those  in  the  above  groups;  together  with  rep- 
resentative plants  of  the  leading  subdivisions  and  principal  families  of  angiosperms. 

Classification  should  include  a  study  of  the  primary  subdivisions  of  the  above 
groups,  based  on  the  comparison  of  the  types  with  other  (  preferably  |  living  or  pre- 
served material.  The  principal  subdivisions  of  the  angiosperms.  grouped  on  the 
Engler  and  Prantl  system,  should  be  understood. 

The  ability  to  use  manuals  for  the  determination  of  the  species  of  flowering  plants 
is  not  considered  essential  in  this  course,  though  it  is  desirable.  It  should  not  be 
introduced  to  the  exclusion  of  any  other  work,  but  may  well  be  made  voluntary  work 
for  those  showing  a  taste  for  it.  It  should  not  be  limited  to  learning  names  of  plants, 
but  should  be  made  a  study  in  the  plan  of  classification  as  well. 

The  preparation  of  an  herbarium  is  not  required  nor  recommended  except  as  vol- 
untary work  for  those  with  a  taste  for  collecting.  If  made,  it  should  not  constitute 
a  simple  accumulation  of  species,  but  should  represent  some  distinct  idea  of  plant 
associations,  or  of  morphology,  or  of  representation  of  the  groups,  etc. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  your  committee  that  the  course  outlined  above  should  be  adopted 
as  a  general  standard  elementary  course.  It  is  clearly  recognized  that  each  phase  of 
it  is  capable  of  great  expansion.  Enough  is  outlined,  for  example,  under  ecology  or 
physiology  for  a  year's  work  in  college.  It  will  lie  possible,  therefore,  to  present  only 
the  main  fundamental  propositions  under  each  head,  leaving  the  more  thorough 
study  for  future  work  along  special  lines.  A  sufficient  amount  can  be  accomplished 
in  this  course  to  furnish  a  good  foundation  for  subsequent  courses  somewhat  more 
specialized.  In  all  respects  this  foundation  course  is  the  most  important  part  of  a 
botanical  training.  During  this  period  either  a  liking  or  a  dislike  for  the  science  will 
be  developed;  right  or  wrong  methods  of  study  and  investigations  will  be  acquired; 
in  fact,  the  foundation  for  future  development  along  any  of  these  lines  of  pure  or 
applied  botany  is  laid  at  this  time.     This  is  work  for  specialists  in  botany  and  not 


176 

for  a  teacher  who  lias  many  other  specialties  besides.  The  botanist  must  also  be  a 
good  and  an  enthusiastic  teacher  in  his  chosen  held.  In  some  localities  preparatory 
schools  and  high  schools  will  be  able  to  present  this  course  properly,  having  teachers 
trained  in  the  subject  and  providing  the  necessary  apparatus  and  other  equipment. 
When  this  can  not  be  done  it  is  a  mistake  for  a  school  to  undertake  the  work  at  all, 
at  least,  to  go  beyond  the  grade  of  so-called  "nature  study."  The  fact  is  that  most 
of  our  agricultural  colleges  will  for  a  long  time  to  come  be  obliged  to  offer  a  course 
in  elementary  or  foundation  botany,  and  every  student  who  is  going  into  any  branch 
of  agricultural  work  from  the  standpoint  of  agronomy  should  be  required  to  take  it. 
The  committee  on  methods  of  teaching  agriculture  will  recommend  the  adoption  of 
this  same  general  course,  giving  to  it  120  hours"  in  the  sophomore  year  and  (i()  hours 
in  the  junior  year.  The  course  in  general  is  shown. by  the  following  table,  as  fur- 
nished by  Doctor  True  of  the  committee  on  methods  of  teaching  agriculture: 

Agricultural  coarse  in  college. 

[As  proposed  by  Doctor  True  of  the  committee  on  methods  of  teaching  agriculture.] 


Freshmen. 

Sophomores. 

Juniors. 

Seniors. 

Subject. 

Hour-. 

Subject. 

Hours. 

Subject. 

Hours. 

Subject. 

Hours. 

150 

150 

155 

120 
180 

Agriculture: 
Zootechny60 

Agronomy  U0 

Meteorology  ... 

A.g  r  i  c  ultural 

chemistry. 
Botanv * 

}      150 

GO 
180 
120 

80 
100 

GO 

Agriculture: 
ZooteehnylOO 
Agronomy   50 

Geology 

Botanv 

}      150 

120 
60 

Dairying,  agri- 
culture, farm 
mec  hanics, 
rural   econo- 
my. 

V  e  t  e  r  i  n  a  r  y 
medicine. 

Chemistry 

|        186 

180 
180 

Geometry     and 
trig  onome- 
trv. 

English 

Physiology 

Zoology 

Psychology  — 

Mod  e  r  n  lan- 
guages. 

and  forestry. 

180  1   History  >uid 

190 

English 

Modern  lan- 
guages. 
Drawing 

120 
60 

60 
750 

political 
economy. 
Ethics 

40 

Modern    lan- 
guages. 

755 

750 

776 

Agricultural  course  in  college. 

[Modified  so  as  to  include  more  Botany.] 


Freshmen.                         Sophomores. 

Juniors.                                    Seniors. 

Subject. 

Hours. 

Subject. 

Hours. 

Subject.            Hours.           Subject. 

Hours. 

]       130 

GO 

IGO 
1G0 

SO 
100 

GO 

Chemistry 

150 

Zootechny  go 
Agronomy  70 

Meteorology  .. 

Airrienl  tural 

Zootechny  LOO 

Agronomy   50 

Geology 

t       ,-n         culture,  farm 
f      1,HJ        mechanics, 
rural    econ- 
omy. 
60      V  e  t  c  r  i  n  ;i  ry 
medicine. 
|        80 

\       80     Horticulture 
[       GO       and  forestry. 
180      History  and  po- 
litical    econ- 
omy. 

120     Ethics* 

10 

1        186 
180 
180 

Gcomet  ry  and 
trigonometry. 

chemistry. 
L55      Botany 

120      Kmrlish 

Physiology 

/oology 

Psychology  o ... 

190 
40 

.Mode  ru    lan- 
guages. 

iso 

Modem     lan- 
guages. 
Drawing 

755 

750 

770 

776 

a  Hours  is  used  to  indicate  periods  of  class  or  laboratory  work. 
ered  equivalent  to  one  hour  recitation. 
^Surveying  (elective)  in  place  of  ethics. 
•  English  composition  (elective)  in  place  of  psychology, 


Two  hours  Laboratory  are  consid- 


177 

There  is  no  doubt  that  t lit-  elementary  botanical  course  may  be  fairly  well  covered 
in  180  hours,  or  possibly  160,  but  to  do  it  will  require  strict  attention  to  the  essen- 
tials both  by  the  teacher  and  by  the  student.  No  interesting  tangenl  lines  can  be 
explored. 

An  examination  of  the  agricultural  course  as  recommended  by  the  committee  on 
methods  of  teaching  agriculture0  shows  lsi>  houre  given  to  the  subject  in  its 
narrower  technical  .sense,  divided  as  follows: 

Hours. 

1.  Agronomy,  or  plant  production L32 

2.  Zootechny,  or  animal  industry Kii' 

3.  Agrotechny,  or  agricultural  technology 72 

4.  Rural  engineering,  or  farm  mechanics (10 

5.  Rural  economics,  or  farm  management (50 

Total 486 

In  the  committee's  syllabus  of  the  course  in  agronomy  considerable  space  is  given 
to  subject  matter  which  must  necessarily  be  covered  in  a  course  in  botany.  The 
ground  covered  is  essentially  as  follows: 

(Structure  (anatomy). 
Composition. 
Physiology. 
Environment. 

{Agriculture  has  for  its  object  the  adaptation  of  environment  to  the 
anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  plants  under  cultivation,  with  a  view 
to    securing  crops  which  are  best  suited  to  the  uses  of  man  or  the 
domestic  animals. 
We  may  conveniently  begin  the  study  of  plant  production  by  considering  the  gen- 
eral characteristics  of  the  environment  of  plants  as  grown  in  the  field. 


Environment 

(General  factors.) 


Environment 

(Divided  according 
to  position. ) 


Light, 
Heat. 
Moisture. 
Air. 

Soil 


Above  ground. 
(Climate.) 


Under  ground . . 
(Soil.) 


Natural 

With  fertilizers. 


Light 

Heat 
Moisture 
Air 


Heat 

Moisture 

Air 

Earth  (soil). 
Fertilizers  . 


Plant  food. 

Study  the  relation  of 
each  of  these  factors 
to  plant  growth  and 
also  briefly  their 
effects  in  different 
combinations — i.  e., 
different  climates. 

Point  out  that  the  re- 
lation of  these  fac- 
tors to  plant  growth 
may  be  most  clearly 
perceived  by  first 
considering  them  in 
their  relation  to 
each  other. 


Briefly,  it  is  proposed  to  study  the  structure,  composition,  physiology,  and  environ- 
ment of  crop  plants  from  the  standpoint  of  plant  production.  If  this  course  is  pre- 
ceded by  the  proper  botanical  training,  the  ground  from  the  standpoint  of  agronomy 
can  be  covered  in  very  much  less  time  and  with  greater  success,  as  provided  for  in 
the  syllabus  under  the  head  of  individual  farm  crops.  If  this  special  botanical  por- 
tion of  agronomy  be  transferred  to  botany,  we  estimate  that  there  would  be  a  saving 
of  at  least  20  hours,  which  should  be  added  to  botany  in  the  sophomore  year. 
Twenty  hours  should  also  be  taken  from  agricultural  chemistry  and  added  to  botany, 
giving  160  hours  for  this  subject,  2  hours'  lecture  and  4  hours'  laboratory  work  for 
40  weeks.  This  would  leave  practically  120  hours  for  that  portion  of  agronomy  not 
presented  in  the  botanical  course,  and  would  leave  150  hours  for  chemistry  in  the 


«U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  Circ.  39, 
21736— No.  142—04-^12 


178 

freshman  year,  and  160  hours  for  agricultural  chemistry  in  the  sophomore  year. 
After  a  mastery  of  the  elements  of  botany,  at  least  two  additional  courses  will  be 
necessary.  Before  considering  secondary  courses  in  botany,  attention  should  be 
called  to  the  necessity  of  a  fundamental  training  in  chemistry  and  physics  as  a  basis 
for  further  work  in  plant  morphology  and  physiology.  These  courses  should  be 
required  of  all  students.  It  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  ability  to  read  German 
and  French,  especially  the  former,  is  a  necessary  requirement  for  all  who  expect  to 
equip  themselves  as  teachers  or  investigators  in  the  fields  of  plant  industry.  A  lack 
of  this  knowledge  is  often  a  handicap  to  many  students  otherwise  well  prepared. 
In  the  formulation  of  second  courses  in  botany  for  agricultural  colleges  the  aim  should 
be  to  furnish  the  proper  foundation  for  applied  work  in  agronomy,  horticulture,  and 
forestry. 

GENERAL    SPECIFICATIONS    OF    SECOND    COFRSE. 

At  least  2  hours  of  lecture  and  4  hours  of  laboratory  work  per  week  for  one-half  year 
should  be  given  to  an  extension  of  the  work  on  the  physiology  of  the  higher  plants, 

monocotyledons  and  dicotyledons.  Special  stress  should  be  laid  in  this  course  on 
the  response  of  the  plant  to  varying  conditions  and  combinations  of  cond:tions  in  its 
environment.  It  should  include  a  more  special  study  of  plants  with  regard  to 
temperature,  light,  and  moisture  relations,  and  tne  effects  on  the  plant  of  variations 
in  soil  and  nutrition.  This  work  should  include  not  only  normal  but  also  abnormal 
physiological  reaction,  and  should  therefore  serve  also  as  an  introduction  to  those 
phases  of  plant  pathology  which  deal  with  the  effect  on  the  plant  of  its  nonliving 
environment.  In  connection  with  this  course  and  as  a  part  of  it,  there  should  be  a 
sufficient  extension  of  morphological  and  histological  work  to  make  clear  the  physi- 
ological processes  not  only  of  the  plant  as  a  whole,  but  of  its  various  organs  and 
tissues,  and  the  course  should  include  the  ordinary  technology  of  such  work.  The 
general  topical  arrangement  of  this  course  might  be  as  follows: 

Resume   and  extension  of  the  work  on  root,  stem,  and  leaf  structure  of  the 
elementary  course. 

Secondary  growth  in  stems  and  roots. 

Seed  and  fruit  structure. 

Minute  study  of  cell  structure  and  cell  contents. 

Cell  division  (the  various  kinds  in  detail). 
The  morphological  and  histological  work  should  not  be  conducted  separately,  but 
coordinated  with  the  following  physiological  work: 

Nutrition. — Constituents  of  plants:  essential  elements;  accessory  elements  and  their 
effects;  nature  of  soil  solution;  degree  of  concentration  of  same  in  relation  to 
plants;  effect  of  soil  and  atmospheric  moisture  in  varying  quantity;  photo- 
synthesis; chemosynthesis;  translocation;  and  storage. 

(This  will  involve  water,  sand,  soil,  and  air  culture  experiments  with  varying 
combinations  of  nutritive  elements  and  conditions.  Field  experiments  are  also 
desirable. ) 

Respiration. — Aerobic  and  anaerobic;  energy  liberated;  products  of  destructive 
metabolism  and  their  fate;  movements  of  gases;  respiration  of  roots  under 
varying  soil  conditions,  favorable  and  unfavorable;  respiration  of  fruits,  etc. 

Fermentation. — Ferments:  enzyms  (the  chief  kinds,  their  distribution  and  mode  of 
action). 

Growth. — Seat  and  conditions  of  growth;  periodicity  and  grand  period;  rate  of 
growth  under  varying  conditions. 

Ieritarilitv. — Movements  of  protoplasm  and  plant  parts;  geotropism;  hydrotropism; 
heliotropism;  nyctotropism;  response  of  plants  to  various  stimuli. 

Reproduction. — Pollination  (close  and  cross);  cleistogamy;  dichogamy,  etc. ;  fertili- 
zation; hybridization — methods,  results,  cytology;  variation — general  rules  and 
theories;  plant  breeding. 

Following  the  half  year  above  outlined,  another  course  of  a  half  year  (2  hours  of 
lecture,  4  hours  of  laboratory)  should  be  devoted  to  a  special,  broad  study  of  the 
physiology  and  classification  of  fungi  and  bacteria,  with  special  reference  to  bene- 
ficial and  injurious  species.  This  course  should  include  some  culture  and  infection 
work  and  practical  work  in  methods  of  controlling  plant  disea-es.  As  a  general 
outline  the  ground  covered  in  Diseases  of  Plants,  by  Tubeuf  and  Smith,  is  to  be 
recommended,  but  other  text  and  reference  books  will  In-  necessary. 

Referring  again  to  the  agricultural  course  prepared  by  the  committee  on  teaching 
agriculture,  we  find  <>()  hours  devoted  to  botany  in  the  junior  year.  This  is,  of 
course,  insufficient  time  for  either  one  of  the  courses  above  suggested  and  believed  to 


179 

be  absolutely  necessary  as  a  basis  for  applied  lines  in  plant  industry.     These  courses 

must  have  not  less  than  80  hours  each.  It  would  appear  practicable  in  the  general 
college  course  above  referred  to  to  put  psychology  on  the  same  basis  as  ethics,  giving 

it  40  instead  of  60  hours,  and  further  t<>  put  geology  on  the  Bame  basis  as  meteorology, 
giving  it  60  instead  of  120  hours.  This  will  make  a  saving  of  80  hours,  which  can 
be  devoted  to  botany.  Then,  by  adding  20  hours  to  the  total  junior  course,  160 
hours  can  be  devoted  to  botany  in  the  junior  year.  One  other  course  is  believed  t<» 
be  desirable  in  order  to  furnish  a  good  solid  foundation  on  which  work  inapplied 
botany  can  be  based.  This  course  should  cover  a  period  of  about  one-half  year  2 
hours'  lecture  and  4  hours'  laboratory  or  field  work  per  week)  and  should  consist  of  a 
special  study  of  the  classification  and  distribution  of  gyninosperms  and  angiosperms 
with  special  reference  to  those  of  economic  importance  and  those  which  have  given 
rise  to  cultivated  varieties.  In  this  course  the  student  should  obtain  a  char  idea  of 
the  origin  and  relationships  of  our  cultivated  plants.  In  order  to  provide  time  for 
this  course  the  60  hours  of  modern  language  in  the  junior  year  could  be  dispensed 
with.  One  hundred  and  eighty  hours  of  modern  languages  in  the  freshman  year 
and  160  hours  in  the  sophomore  year  should  be  sufficient  in  a  general  course.  The 
60  hours  thus  saved  could  be  devoted  to  the  botanical  course  last  mentioned.  If  the 
arrangement  suggested  can  not  be  adopted,  the  last-mentioned  botanical  course 
should  be  omitted  rather  than  either  of  the  80-hour  courses. 

Starting  from  these  courses  as  bases,  it  will  be  possible  for  a  student  to  begin  to  spe- 
cialize in  those  branches  of  botanical  work  that  will  be  most  useful  to  him  in  the  gen- 
eral end  for  which  he  is  working;  for  example,  a  student  who  wants  to  specialize  in 
agronomic  lines  would  go  on  from  this  point  with  a  more  thorough  and  systematic 
study  of  cereals,  grasses,  and  forage  plants,  weeds,  poisonous  plants,  etc.,  and  a  stu- 
dent in  general  horticulture  might  take  up  further  studies  in  physiology  or  especially 
along  the  pathological  lines  so  far  as  they  relate  to  horticultural  work,  and  if  the  stu- 
dent desires  to  specialize  or  to  prepare  himself  for  investigation  work  or  for  teaching 
botany,  he  could  elect  his  further  work  in  such  lines  as  he  might  choose.  In  histo- 
logical lines  he  could  take  up  the  study  of  cytology,  histology,  embryology,  histo- 
genesis, etc.  In  taxonomic  lines  he  could  take  up  systematic  botany,  morphology 
and  classification,  and  ecology.  In  physiological  lines  he  could  continue  with  physi- 
ology and  pathology.  It  has  been  found  profitable  in  many  colleges  to  have  a  student 
devote  the  senior  year  to  the  careful  investigation  of  some  problem  as  a  thesis.  This 
is  the  best  plan  to  follow,  especially  where  students  propose  to  go  into  some  branch 
of  practical  agriculture.  If  the  student  has  in  mind  becoming  an  investigator  or 
teacher,  the  special  investigation  work  is  best  carried  out  as  postgraduate  and  the 
regular  college  time  given  to  strengthening  the  general  course.  The  courses  here  out- 
lined are  designed  not  to  produce  teachers  and  investigators,  but  to  furnish  a  good 
foundation  training  for  further  development. 

A  resolution  was  passed  adopting  the  report  and  expressing  appreciation  of  the 
work  of  the  committee. 

H.  L.  Hutt,  of  Ontario,  gave  a  full  discussion  of  the  methods  of  teaching  horticul- 
ture in  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College. 

F.  W.  Rane,  of  New  Hampshire,  was  elected  chairman  of  the  section,  with  F.  L. 
Stevens,  of  North  Carolina,  as  secretary. 

The  following  resolution  was  passed: 

"  That  a  committee  of  five,  of  which  the  chairman  of  the  section  should  be  one, 
be  appointed  by  the  chair  to  outline  courses  in  horticulture." 

At  this  point  attention  being  called  to  the  fact  that  the  old  section.-,  as  such,  had 
been  abolished,  it  was,  on  motion,  declared  to  be  the  sense  of  the  section  that  the 
chairman  and  secretary,  just  elected,  be  constituted  a  committee  to  look  after  the 
interests  of  the  section. 

The  section  then  adjourned. 


180 
SECTION  ON  ENTOMOLOGY. 


The  Section  on  Entomology  me1  at  the  Shoreham  Hotel  on  the  afternoons  of 
November  17  ami  is,  L903.  In  the  absence  of  the  regular  officers,  J.  B.  Smith,  of 
New  Jersey,  was  elected  temporary  chairman,  and  C.  M.  Weed,  of  New  Hampshire, 

temporary  secretary. 

The  first  paper  read  was  the  following  by  A.  D.  Hopkins,  of  the  Division  of 
Entomology,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture: 

Methods  of  Work  and  Some  Results  in   Forest  Insect  Investigations. 

The  work  of  the  forest  entomologist  differs  in  many  respects  from  that  of  the 
entomologist  who  devotes  his  attention  especially  to  horticultural  and  farm  insects. 
The  comparatively  meager  literature  on  American  forest  insects  compels  him  to  rely 
more  on  original  investigations  for  the  requisite  knowledge  of  the  life,  history,  habits, 
and  natural  enemies,  on  which  to  base  conclusions  relating  to  practical  methods  of 
preventing  losses.  *  The  methods  of  obtaining  this  information  are  peculiarly  difficult 
and  complicated,  owing  to  the  widely  different  conditions  prevailing  in  the  forests  of 
the  northeastern,  southeastern  and  southern,  central  and  northern,  the  southwestern 
and  northwestern,  the  Pacific  slope,  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  regions  of  the  country. 

Each  section  has  its  peculiar  insects  and  widely  differing  problems,  regarding 
which  comparatively  little  is  known.  Long,  tedious  journeys  have  to  be  made  by 
rail,  stage,  horseback,  and  on  foot,  and  when  the  primitive  forests  are  penetrated 
the  services  of  a  guide  are  often  required. 

The  equipment  necessary  for  field  work  is  a  light  ax  or  hatchet,  a  stout  penknife, 
beating  net,  many  small  phials  of  various  sizes,  and  a  hunting  coat  with  many  small 
and  large  pockets.  Trees  must  be  felled,  hark  removed,  sections  of  the  trunk  cut  out, 
roots,  trunks,  and  1  (ranches  examined,  and  specimens  collected,  each  of  which  must 
be  numbered  and  recorded  in  the  notebook.  The  latter  does  not  differ  so  much  from 
the  usual  entomological  work,  but  perhaps  greater  care  must  be  exercised  in  deter- 
mining and  recording  facts  on  habits,  life  histories,  and  the  peculiar  relations  of  the 
insects  to  their  hosts.  The  labor  of  procuring  specimens  of  bark  and  wood  showing 
characteristic  work,  and  their  transfer  from  the  forests  to  the  nearest  shipping  station 
or  post-office  is  an  item  of  considerable  importance.  Then  one  must  know  the  trees 
from  which  the  specimens  are  collected,  and  often  botanical  specimens  must  be 
taken  for  accurate  determination.  The  forests  must  he  studied  to  determine  the 
relations  of  tires,  storms,  lumber  operations,  and  general  forest  management  to  the 
multiplication  of  destructive  insects,  but  above  all  to  determine  if  any  changes  in 
management  or  lumbering  operations  will  prevent  losses  from  special  enemies  or 
classes  of  injuries. 

The  breeding  of  forest  insects  also  presents  some  peculiar  features.  Instead  of  the 
ordinary  breeding  cage,  small  phials  and  bottles  of  various  sizes  with  cotton  stoppers, 
glass  jars  with  clamp  tops,  large,  tight  tin  boxes,  barrels  and  large  wooden  boxes, 
are  the  proper  equipments  for  this  purpose,  with  specially  devised  paraffin  cells,  or 
tin  cages  attached  to  the  sides  of  trees,  or  wire  cages  to  inclose  stumps  and  sections  of 
logs  in  the  forest. 

The  specimens  of  wood  and  hark,  branches  and  leaves,  showing  the  work  of  the 
insects  require  special  cases  for  storage  and  classification,  and  the  mass  of  material  of 
this  kind  in  a  large  collection  requires  much  room  for  its  proper  arrangement  for 
reference  and  study. 

THE    DETERMINATION    OF    METHODS   OF    PREVENTING    LOSSES. 

It  is  in  the  determination  of  methods  of  preventing  losses  and  in  their  recommen- 
dations for  practical  application  that  the  work  of  the  forest  entomologist  presents 
some  strikingly  different  features.  Very  few  of  the  methods  of  combating  forest  and 
shade  tree  insects,  and  lessof  those  as  applied  to  the  farm  and  garden  can  be  adopted 
for  forest  trees.  Forests  can  not  he  sprayed,  neither  can  they  he  treated  with  hydro- 
cyanic-acid  gas,  or  lime,  sulphur,  and  salt,  or  by  any  other  of  the  many  expensive 
methods  which  are  practicable  with  trees  under  cultivation.  Rotation  of  forest  crops 
is  out  of  the  question,  and  it  will  he  many  years  before  clean  culture  and  highforestry 
can  he  applied  in  this  country,  except  on  a  limited  scale  in  farmers'  wood  lots,  and 
under  specially  favorable  conditions  in  more  extensive  forests. 


181 

We  have  had  to  search  for  differenl  and  inexpensive  methods,  :m<!  as  Our  kn^u  I- 
edge  of  the  life  history  and  habits  of  the  principal  depredators  <>n  foresl  treesand 
forest  products  increases,  as  the  results  of  recenl  investigations,  it  becomes  plain  thai 

a  vast  amount  of  loss  from  this  source  can  be  prevented  without  cost. 

It  is  in  the  adjustment  of  business  methods  in  harvesting  and  caring  for  foresl 
products  that  we  have  a  simple  and  inexpensive  means  of  dealing  with  the  principal 
forest  insect  problems.  We  have  found  that  certain  methods  of  lumbering  and  caring 
for  the  manufactured  products  contribute  to  the  multiplication  of  the  destructive 
insects  and  consequent  losses  from  their  work.  We  have  also  determined  that  a 
change  in  these  methods,  which  involves  no  hardship  or  additional  expense,  will  have 
the  opposite  effect.  This  has  been  demonstrated  in  the  .Maine  woods,  where,  upon 
recommendation,  the  principal  cutting  is  concent  rated  in  the  areas  of  dying  and  beetle- 
infested  spruce.  We  have  another  example,  in  the  tan-bark  industry,  where  it  has 
been  shown  that,  if  the  bark  is  utilized  for  tanning  before  it  is  three  years  old,  the 
heretofore  great  loss  of  bark  from  insect  work  is  entirely  prevented.  It  lias  been 
shown  that  the  pine  forests  of  the  Black  Hills  forest  reserve  may  be  saved  from  pos- 
sible destruction  by  the  pine-destroying  beetle,  by  cutting  a  Large  per  cent  of  the 
infested  trees  during  seven  months,  from  the  1st  of  October  to  the  1st  of  May,  and 
converting  the  same  into  merchantable  products,  and  that  this  can  be  done  without 
cost  to  the  Government.  We  have  experiments  under  way  the  results  of  which  are 
already  making  it  clear  that  very  extensive  losses  in  the  cypress  lumber  business 
of  the  South,  from  insect  work,  can  be  avoided  without  additional  cost.  It  will  only 
be  necessary  to  ad  just  the  operation  of  girdling  trees  so  that  the  principal  work  will  be 
done  at  a  time  of  year  which  will  result  in  unfavorable  conditions  for  insect  attack. 

The  methods  of  determining  the  facts  on  which  to  base  recommendations  for  this 
class  of  preventive  measures  involves  some  expensive  experiments,  but  with  the 
cooperation  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  and  the  practical  lumbermen,  which  is  being 
so  liberally  extended,  we  feel  that  much  will  be  accomplished  along  this  line  in  the 
future. 

There  is  another  method  involving  the  destruction  of  infested  trees  which  has 
yielded  encouraging  results.  In  cases  where  the  felled  timber  can  not  be  utilized  and 
must  be  burned,  it  is  an  expensive  process,  and  is  only  available  where  the  promised 
results  will  justify  it,  while  in  other  cases  where  the  felled  timber  can  be  converted 
into  merchantable  products,  there  is  little  or  no  loss.  The  practicability  of  this 
method  seems  to  he  demonstrated  this  year  at  Belle  Isle  Park,  Detroit,  where  a 
large  number  of  hickory  trees,  thickly  infested  with  the  hickory  bark-beetle,  were 
felled  and  burned  during  "Slay,  the  work  having  been  done  just  in  time  to  effectually 
destroy  the  broods  before  the  adults  commenced  to  emerge.  The  result  of  this  w<  »rk 
by  the  park  commission  was  specially  satisfactory,  as  no  evidence  of  the  work  of  the 
insect  has  since  been  observed,  while  the  previous  summer  it  seemed  that  all  of  the 
hickories  in  the  park  (one  of  its  most  important  features)  would  be  completely 
exterminated. 

The  methods  of  obtaining  facts  on  which  to  base  recommendations  for  the  cutting 
and  destruction  of  infested  trees  involves  the  determination  of  the  life  histories  of 
the  destructive  insect  and  its  principal  natural  enemies,  in  order  to  designate  the 
beginning  and  ending  of  the  period  within  which  the  infested  timber  must  be  felled. 
It  is  important  to  determine  whether  or  not  the  entire  tree  or  only  the  bark  of  the 
trunk  should  be  burned,  or  if  the  simple  operation  of  removing  the  bark  would  be 
sufficient  to  kill  the  young  broods.  The  life  history  and  habits  of  the  natural 
enemies  must  be  studied  to  determine  whether  or  not  they  emerge  some  days  or 
weeks  in  advance  of  the  tree-destroying  insects,  in  order  that  they  may  be  allowed 
to  escape  before  the  trees  or  bark  is  burned. 

We  have  also  the  trap-tree  method  of  combating  forest  insects,  which  consists  in 
the  providing  of  girdled  and  felled  trees  at  the  proper  time  of  year  to  attract  certain 
destructive  bark-infesting  insects.  By  this  method  swarms  of  the  beetles  are  con- 
centrated on  a  few  trees,  and  after  they  have  entered  the  bark  and  the  broods  are 
partially  developed,  they  are  all  destroyed  by  the  simple  removal  of  the  bark  from 
the  infested  parts  of  the  stumps,  trunks,  and  larger  branches,  leaving  the  wood 
available  for  lumber  or  fuel. 

The  determination  of  the  particular  species  of  insects  which  can  or  can  not  be 
trapped  and  destroyed  in  this  manner,  and  the  proper  time  and  method  of  doing  the 
work  to  meet  the  requirements  of  each  species,  involves  extensive  experiments  and 
the  use  of  a  large  number  of  different  kinds  of  trees  in  differenl  sections  of  the 
country.  As  an  example,  over  200  large  trees  were  utilized  in  one  experiment 
last  year  in  the  Black  Hills  Forest  Reserve.  The  results  from  this  and  other  similar 
experiments  have  so  far  been  very  gratifying  in  showing  that  some  species  arc  read- 
ily attracted  to  felled  and  girdled  trees,  while  others,  like  the  pine-destroying  beetle 


182 

of  the  Black  Hills,  show  no  preference  whatever  for  the  injured  trees  over  the  near  Im- 
perfectly healthy  ones.  This  latter  result  proves  beyond  all  question  that  healthy 
tncs  are  attacked  ami  killed  by  this  hark  beetle;  that  it  can  not  he  attracted  to  trap 
trees;  that  its  broods  can  be  destroyed  by  felling  the  infested  trees  during  the  fall, 
winter,  and  spring  i iths  and  removing  the  hark  from  the  main  trunks  and  leav- 
ing it  on  the  ground  to  dry;  that  the  wood  of  such  trees  can  he  profitably  utilized 
for  railroad  ties,  mine  timbers,  and  cord  wood. 

Thus  we  have  found  that  while  some  of  the  methods  of  work  in  forest  insect  inves- 
tigations are  complicated  and  expensive,  both  in  money  and  time,  they  have  led  to 
the  discovery  of  some  simple,  inexpensive,  and  practical  methods  of  preventing 
losses. 

The  reading  of  the  paper  was  followed  by  an  appreciative  discussion  in  which  J.  B. 
Smith,  C.  M.  Weed,  and  others  took  part. 

The  following  two  papers  by  E.  P.  Felt,  of  New  York,  were  then  read: 

Importance  ok  Laboratory  and  Field  Work  in  Economic  Entomology. 

The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  not  so  much  to  present  new  facts  as  to  provoke  a  dis- 
cussion, and  in  this  way  draw  out  valuable  points  in  the  experience  of  different 
workers.  It  always  seemed  to  the  speaker  that  laboratory  work  should  form  the 
basis  for  field  experiments,  and  that  one  should  always  accompany  the  other.  There 
has  been  more  or  less  talk  in  recent  years  about  experiments  of  magnitude;  those 
conducted  on  a  commercial  scale  and  the  like,  and  yet,  in  reality,  some  of  our  most 
satisfactory  results  have  been  obtained  in  breeding  jars  no  larger  than  a  jelly  tumbler, 
or  even  a  small  homeopathic  vial.  It  is  very  true  that  the  breeding  jar,  be  it  large 
or  small,  does  not  afford  natural  conditions,  and  results  are  more  or  less  affected  la- 
this variation;  and  yet,  an  insect  confined  in  such  small  quarters  can  be  observed 
much  more  closely  and  a  correspondingly  larger  amount  of  knowledge  gained  con- 
cerning its  habits;  for  example,  we  have  had  no  trouble  in  keeping  elm-leaf  beetle, 
Galerucella  luteoh.  Mull.,  for  approximately  thirty  days  under  such  close  observation, 
and  in  spite  of  the  apparently  unfavorable  conditions  they  approximated  a  full  quota 
of  eggs.  Even  more  remarkable  results  were  obtained  with  the  grapevine  root  worm 
beetle  Fidia  viticida  Walsh,  a  specimen  of  which  not  only  lived  in  a  breeding  jar 
for  upwards  of  nine  weeks,  but  deposited  the  very  large  number  of  1)00  eggs.  The 
advantage  of  these  very  small  jars  is  that  they  permit  isolation  and  enable  one 
to  make  much  more  accurate  observation  than  would  be  possible  in  the  field.  The 
results  obtained  in  the  laboratory  are  carefully  checked  by  others  in  the  field,  and  in 
our  experience  ( in  some  cases  at  least),  it  pays  well  to  build  larger  breeding  cages  in 
the  field  and  observe  conditions  there,  not  only  in  comparison  with  the  indoor  breed- 
ing cages,  but  also  with  uninclosed  food  plants;  for  example,  some  exceedingly  valu- 
able data  were  gained  the  past  season  inaseriesof  eight  large  cages,  which  contained 
from  one  to  two  full-sized  grapevines  in  the  midst  of  a  commercial  vineyard.  The 
conditions  were  somewhat  abnormal  on  account  of  the  line  win1  screening,  prevent- 
ing, to  a  slight  extent,  the  normal  circulation  of  air,  and  the  temperature  inside  of 
the  inclosures  was  consequently  a  little  higher;  nevertheless,  by  means  of  such  cages 
we  obtained  unquestioned  data  as  to  the  time  the  beetles  appeared  above  ground, 
something  of  great  importance,  whether  the  adults  are  to  be  destroyed  by  catch- 
ing or  killed  by  an  application  of  some  arsenical  poison.  These  cages  also  gave 
exceedingly  valuable  data  on  the  proportion  of  pupae  which  could  be  killed  by 
cultivation,  and  likewise  the  efficacy  of  poison  in  destroying  the  beetles.  Our 
indoor  cages,  for  example,  show  that  where  the  insects  were  confined  absolutely 
to  leaves  which  had  been  covered  by  the  poison,  they  could  be  killed  in  nine  to 
twelve  days  or  thereabouts,  whereas,  in  our  larger  outdoor  breeding  cages,  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  the  spraying  was  done  by  hand  in  a  most  thorough  manner,  practi- 
cally none  of  the  insects  were  dead  after  a  period  of  twelve  days.  The  results  from 
the  indoor  and  outdoor  cages  differ,  and  yet  there  was  a  relative  gradation  in  those 
obtained  between  the  indoor  and  outdoor  cages  and  the  larger  experiments  wherean 
acre  or  more  was  involved.  The  point  we  wish  to  make  in  this  connection  is  that 
while  no  one  of  these  experiments  gave  conclusive  data,  the  combination  of  the  three 
enabled  us  to  form  a  very  fair  judgment  of  what  actually  was  oceuring,  and  we 
believe  that  by  these  means  we  have  been  able  to  estimate,  with  considerable 
accuracy,  the  relative  value  of  various  methods  of  controlling  the  pest  under  consid- 
eration. In  this  connection  a  word  regardingthe  reliability  of  the  untrained  observer- 
is  not  out  of  place.  It  frequently  occurs  that  the  experimenter  has  not  the  money 
or  the  time  to  make  an  extended  series  of  experiments,  and  he  is  therefore  often 
obliged  to  avail  himself  of  the  experience  of  intelligent  parties  who  follow  his  advice. 
Occasionally  it  is  possible  for  him  to  be  present  when  the  spraying,  for  example,  is 
in  progress,  and  to  observe  the  manner  in  which  the  work  is  done,  and  he  may  later 


183 

examine  the  premises  and  decide  for  himself  as  to  the  efficiency  of  the  work.  At 
other  times  such  is  aot  the  ease,  and  he  may  not  even  Bee  the  held;  yet.  very  satisfac- 
tory reports  come  regarding  the  results  obtained,  or  believed  t<>  be  obtained.  The 
reliability  of  these  reports,  in  our  experience,  depends  very  much  upon  the  individual 
making  the  observations,  and  especially  upon  his  familiarity  with  the  insect  he  is 
attempting  to  control.  The  trouble  with  such  observers  is  that  they  are  very  apt  to 
attribute  any  improved  condition  of  the  plant  to  the  application  and  to  accept  an 
apparent  decrease  in  the  numbers  of  the  pest  as  actual  proof  of  the  efficacy  of  the 
insecticide,  whereas,  such  may  not  be  the  case  at  all.  An  incident  of  this  character 
came  to  our  attention  the  past  summer  where  several  parties  had  sprayed  for  Fidia 
viticida  Walsh  (the  grapevine  root  worm),  and  thought  they  had  obtained  most 
excellent  results  due  to  the  fact  that  the  vines  made  Letter  growth  and  that  the  poison 
protected  the  leaves  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  An  examination,  however,  showed 
that  the  protection  was  more  apparent  than  real,  and  as  this  is  by  no  means  an 
isolated  case  it  follows  that  a  great  deal  of  caution  should  he  exercised  in  accepting 
the  judgment  of  iintrained  observers.  I  >n  the  contrary,  our  observations  on  the 
grapeberry  moth  accorded  exactly  with  those  of  an  untrained  observer,  and  in  this 
instance  there  was  hardly  room  for  error,  because  there  was  an  opportunity  to  com- 
pare sprayed  and  unsprayed  vines  in  several  plats  side  by  side.  We  would  unhesi- 
tatingly accept  the  judgment  of  a  growerin  such  a  case,  whereas,  in  the  more  difficult 
one  of  estimating  the  value  accruing  from  arsenical  poisons  in  attempting  to  control 
the  grapevine  root  worm  we  much  prefer  to  investigate  for  ourselves. 

The  outdoor  cage,  as  a  general  thing,  is  not  entirely  satisfactory,  and  yet  it  is  a 
device  which  we  believe  can  be  adopted  with  benefit  in  cases  where  ordinary  out- 
door experiments  fail  to  give  the  results  they  should  in  comparison  with  laboratory 
work.  One  can  never  tell  just  what  will  he  possihle  in  these  outdoor  cages.  We 
were  able  last  summer  in  our  Fidia  work  to  get  definite  data  on  the  destruction  of 
pupa-  and  the  dates  when  beetles  appeared;  yet  the  insects,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
they  were  in  quite  roomy  cages,  6  feet  high,  6  feet  broad,  and  8  feet  to  16  feet  long, 
almost  refused  to  1  treed  and,  as  a  consequence,  final  determinations  of  the  efficacy 
of  different  poisons  and  the  value  of  the  check  cage,  as  illustrating  the  destructive 
possibilities  of  the  beetles  emerging  from  under  the  vines  therein,  were  impossible, 
though  beetles  of  this  species,  as  stated  previously,  were  very  amenable  to  treatment 
in  the  much  smaller  jelly  tumblers,  and  we  were  therefore  somewhat  surprised  at  the 
results.  On  this  account  we  are  inclined  to  restrict  the  use  of  large  outdoor  breed- 
ing cages  to  more  difficult  cases  where  it  is  necessary  to  go  to  considerable  trouble  in 
obtaining  satisfactory  results. 

Record  Devices. 

Office  traditions  have  gotten  us  into  the  habit  of  making  many  records,  particu- 
larly of  species  which  are  contributed  by  various  correspondents,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose we  have  found  nothing  more  satisfactory  than  a  little  card  about  the  size  of  the 
old  postal  card,  with  blanks  for  the  scientific  name,  the  common  name,  the  stage, 
the  food  plant,  date  of  sending,  name  of  sender,  locality,  and  a  space  for  inserting 
the  name  of  any  other  party  or  institution  through  which  the  specimen  may  have 
been  sent.  There  is  also  a  blank  space  for  noting  any  additional  data,  and  spaces 
for  the  catalogue  number,  the  name  of  the  party  by  whom  the  specimen  was  deter- 
mined, the  accession  number,  and  the  field  book  number.  Both  catalogue  and 
field  book  number  are  prefixed  by  letters  so  they  can  not  be  confused  with  acces- 
sion numbers.  The  former  is  convenient  because  the  number  given  the  species  is 
that  of  some  well  recognized  catalogue,  and  affords  a  ready  means  of  arranging  the 
cards  in  their  proper  order.  It  is  also  very  convenient  when  consulting  one  of  these 
cards  to  know  who  determined  the  specimens.  We  have  a  system  of  recording 
scale  insects  in  the  order  of  their  reception  and  each  sending  is  given  an  accession 
number  which  always  appears  upon  this  card  and  enables  an  instant  reference  to  the 
original  record.  We  have  also  a  small  book  called  the  field  book,  which  is  usually 
carried  into  the  field  and  brief  observations  recorded  therein  regarding  captures. 
This  field  book  is  numbered,  and  besides  the  name  of  the  insect  it  gives  also,  if  possi- 
ble, the  name  of  the  food  plant.  The  placing  of  the  field-book  number  upon  these 
cards  aids  greatly  in  referring  to  the  original  record.  To  each  of  the  more  important 
orders  is  assigned  a  letter,  which  always  precedes  the  catalogue  number,  and  as  this 
designation  appears  upon  every  card  there  should  be  no  confusion  regarding  their 
use.  The  idea  of  employing  ordinal  abbreviations  and  catalogue  numbers  is  to  facili- 
tate the  ready  arrangement  of  the  cards  by  comparatively  unskilled  labor.  These 
little  slips  have  been  in  use  in  our  office  for  some  three  years  and  are  much  superior, 
in  our  judgment,  to  the  old  record  book,  since  they  can  be  readily  rearranged  in 
almost  any  way,  entered  properly,  and  it  would  even  be  possible  to  have  the  printer 
set  directly  from  them,  though  we  have  always  sent  typewritten  copy. 


184 

Experience  has  led  to  forsaking  the  <>M  form  of  record  book,  and  almost  all  of  our 
present  notes  are  written  or  dictated  upon  uniform-sized  sheets  and  temporarily  tiled 

in  small  pigeon  holes  until  the  end  of  the  season,  when  they  may  be  either  worked 
up  into  a  report  or  special  bulletin.  The  advantage  of  uniform  slips  forsuch  records 
is  probably  apparent  to  all,  and  most  original  records  relating  to  such  matters  can 
easily  be  filed  alphabetically  or  subjectively  in  ordinary  letter  tiles. 

The  correspondence  of  the  office  is  a  large  one,  and  the  proper  handling  of  the 
accumulated  letters  is  a  serious  problem.  Heretofore  all  such  correspondence  has 
usually  been  filed  alphabetically,  except  in  case  of  some  more  important  correspond- 
ents, where  their  letters  have  been  kept  in  special  boxes.  We  have  recently  sorted 
out  the  more  important  letters  and  tiled  them  topically,  and  we  are  inclined  to 
believe  that  this  will  prove  an  important  aid  in  conducting  the  correspondence,  since 
it  will  enable  a  ready  reference  to  all  letters  written  regarding  any  special  insect  or 
topic.  We  are  making  a  practice  of  retaining  carbon  copies  of  all  letters  written, 
and  it  is  our  plan  to  minute  upon  the  original  communication  the  subject,  and  to  tile 
only  the  copy  topically.  This  does  away  with  the  need  of  an  index  card  for  the  pur- 
pose of  finding  any  letter  which  may  relate  to  a  special  topic;  and  the  carbon  copy, 
of  course,  shows  the  party  to  whom  the  letter  was  written,  while  the  record  upon 
the  original  gives  the  topic  under  which  the  reply  is  tiled.  Only  letters  which 
have  been  in  the  office  two  or  three  months,  or  more,  are  tiled  in  this  way;  and  the 
occasions  when  both  communication  and  reply  are  necessary  are  so  few  that  we 
believe  this  method  gives  the  maximum  benefit  with  a  minimum  expenditure  of 
labor. 

Both  of  these  papers  were  discussed  at  considerable  length  by  W.  Webb,   A.  D. 
Hopkins,  W.  E.  Britton,  F.  L.  Washburn,  and  others. 
J.  B.  Smith  then  read  the  following  paper: 

Tite  New  Jeesey  Ideal  ix  the  Study  and  Report  upon  Injurious  Ixsects. 

Probably  everyone  who  enters  upon  a  position  like  that  of  an  entomologist  to 
an  experiment  station  has  a  more  or  less  definite  idea  of  what  in  required  of  him 
and  an  ideal  toward  which  he  strives.  It  may  not  be  a  very  definite  aim  that  lies 
in  his  mind,  and  he  may  not  even  be  conscious  that  he  is  striving  toward  an  ideal; 
nevertheless,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  there  is  a  model.  It  may  be  uncon- 
sciously that  of  some  teacher  or  of  some  preceding  author;  or,  consciously,  one 
fixed  by  his  own  belief  in  what  is  necessary  or  desirable. 

The  writer  of  this  paper  began  his  work  in  the  early  days  of  experiment  stations; 
not  among  the  first  by  any  means,  and  indeed  not  until  he  had  rather  severely  crit- 
icised, in  an  editorial  way,  some  of  the  bulletins  that  had  been  issued  before  an 
offer  came  to  him  from  New  Jersey.  Having  placed  himself  in  the  position  of  a 
critic,  it  was  incumbent  upon  him  to  avoid  those  faults  which  had  been  found  rep- 
rehensible. It  was  therefore  consciously  that  I  marked  out  for  myself  a  guide  line, 
to  which  T  have  adhered  rather  closely  since  1889,  amplifying,  of  course,  to  some 
extent  and  changing  as  experience  dictated.  I  decided  that  my  constituency  wanted, 
first  of  all,  practical  information.  I  decided  also  that  it  would  be  a  very  good  thing 
for  them  to  know  how  the  information  was  practical  and  why  I  made  recommenda- 
tions. I  would  make  my  publications  educational;  there  would  be  something  that 
could  be  learned  by  anyone  who  chose  to  read  them,  and  I  would  make  them  so 
that  any  man  of  reasonable  intelligence  could  understand  what  I  was  trying  to  tell 
him  and  could  see  why  I  recommended  a  specific  practice  in  preference  to  any  other. 

I  decided  further  that  very  few  farmers  or  fruit  growers  cared  very  much  about 
entomology  or  cared  to  become  entomologists.  It  made  very  little  difference  to  them 
whether  an  insect  had  one  generic  name  or  another,  and  they  cared  absolutely  noth- 
ing whether  the  name  that  was  given  to  it  was  the  first  ever  proposed  for  the  species 
or  not.  What  they  did  want  was  some  name  by  which  to  call  an  injurious  insect  so 
that  they  would  know  what  they  were  talking  about  when  they  used  that  name, 
and  would  know  to  what  I  was  referring  when  I  wrote  concerning  that  species.  I 
made  it  a  rule,  therefore,  although  this  is  one  of  a  somewhat  later  development,  that 
when  1  once  had  used  a  scientific  term  or  combination  of  terms  for  an  injurious 
insect,  that  for  my  purposes  this  became  the  common  name  of  the  insect,  and  would 
be  used  as  such,  no  matter  what  changes  were  made  later  on  in  the  catalogues.  Of 
course,  if  the  inject  has  an  English  name,  it  does  not  make  so  much  difference  what 
Latin  name  you  tack  on  behind  it.  The  farmer  will  very  rarely  commit  it  to  mem- 
ory, and  it  will  not  make  any  difference  to  him  how  frequently  you  change  it;  but 
when  he  has  learned  to  know  a  species  as  Pentttict  misdlct,  he  does  not  know  what  1 
am  talking  about  when  I  refer  to  it  as  Smilia  in  another  place,  and  he  is  altogether 
at  sea  when  a  third  time  I  call  it  Eusmilia  or  something  else. 

Classification  is  not   necessary,   except  in  so  far  as  a   knowledge  <>f  classification 


185 

assists  to  a  recognition  oi  the  method  in  which  an  insect  should  be  treated.  I  con- 
sider it  important,  therefore,  to  teach  the  horticulturist  how  an  insect  \(-a\>  :m<l 
how  he  may  recognize  the  structures  thai  will  enable  him  to  determine  that  point. 
Knowing  it,  lie  will  know  in  a  general  way  the  character  of  the  insecticides  that 
must  he  used.  lie  is  to  be  taugbl  that  stomach  poisons  are  not  available  againsl 
Bucking  insects,  and  that  when  plant  lice  are  to  he  dealt  with  Paris  green  is  of  little 
use,  while  soap  mixtures  and  other  contact  poisons  will  probably  produce  good 
results.  It  is  for  this  reason  that,  whenever  I  make  a  study  of  an  insect,  I  goto 
considerable  trouble  to  explain  just  how  the  injury  is  «lone.  I  want  the  farmer  to 
understand  how  his  plant  is  affected  by  the  attacks  of  the  insect.  I  want  him 
to  understand  how  the  insecticide  that  is  recommended  acts  upon  the  insect,  ami  I 
want  him  to  realize  what  his  aim  must  be  in  the  application  of  the  material.  He 
should  know  whether  it  is  his  aim  to  cover  all  the  leaf  surface  that  the  insects  may 
he  killed  as  soon  as  they  begin  feeding  upon  it,  or  whether  he  must  drive  his  spray 
into  the  midst  of  the  insects  where  they  are  already  congregated  that  he  may  cover 
them  as  completely  as  possible,  whether  all  the  foliage  is  hit  or  not. 

I  decided  also  that  whenever  an  insect  could  be  controlled  without  the  application 
of  insecticides  especial  stress  should  he  laid  upon  the  life  history,  that  the  farmer 
might  understand  thoroughly  the  reason  why  a  particular  line  of  farm  practice  was 
recommended  to  him.  I  found  by  experience1  that  a  farmer  generally  believes  that 
he  knows  more  about  farm  practice  than  the  entomologist,  and  so  far  as  J  am  per- 
sonally concerned  I  admit  that  his  belief  is  well  founded.  It  is  always  my  effort, 
therefore,  to  fully  impress  upon  him  that  what  I  recommend  in  the  way  of  farm 
practice  is  not  because  it  is  the  best  farm  practice,  but  because  that  particular  line 
of  work  will  be  the  worst  for  the  insect  to  be  reached.  In  this  way  you  prevent  his 
feeling  that  you  are  trying  to  change  what  he  has  found  by  experience  to  be  a  satis- 
factory routine.  You  admit  all  that  he  contends  for;  but  give  him  another  end  to 
be  attained,  and,  by  putting  him  upon  a  different  point  of  view  for  considering  the 
subject,  my  experience  is  that  he  is  very  apt  to  be  guided  by  suggestions  which  he 
would  resent  when  presented  in  any  Other  way. 

From  the  very  start  I  determined  that,  while  laboratory  experiments  and  results 
were  extremely  useful  as  guides,  it  was  the  outdoor  conditions  and  the  outdoor  sur- 
roundings that  had  to  be  dealt  with.  Methods  that  are  practical  in  the  laboratory 
may  seem  and  may  actually  be  entirely  impractical  in  the  field.  On  the  other  hand, 
a  farmer  or  fruit  grower  is  sometimes  ready  to  do  a  great  deal  of  unnecessary  work, 
provided  he  can  do  it  at  his  own  time  or  in  his  own  way;  and  I  generally  like  to 
arrange  matters  so  as  to  give  the  farmer  his  own  way  just  as  much  as  it  is  possible  to 
do  so.  All  this  time,  however,  I  deal  with  him  by  suggestions.  I  agree  to  every- 
thing that  he  says  and  to  all  that  he  suggests;  but  I  throw  in  a  little  doubt  here  and 
there,  and  I  venture  an  expression  of  opinion  in  a  timid  sort  of  way.  Sooner  or 
later  this  bears  fruit,  and  a  man  reverses  his  previous  practice  almost  completely 
without  any  idea  that  it  was  done  through  any  but  his  own  good  will  and  pleasure 
and  because  he  himself  thought  it  the  best  thing  to  do;  in  other  words,  while  I  kept 
before  me  the  ideal  to  be  attained  I  never  presented  it.  unless  I  felt  that  it  would  be 
likely  to  meet  with  acceptance. 

Xow,  I  am  quite  ready  to  agree  that  while  all  this  may  be  feasible  in  a  small  State 
like  New  Jersey,  where  it  is  possible  to  come  into  personal  contact  with  farmers 
everywhere,  it  is  not  satisfactory  as  a  guide  in  larger  States  where  conditions  are  dif- 
ferent. In  New  Jersey  agriculture  and  horticulture  is  of  the  most  varid-  possible 
description.  We  run  all  the  way  from  grain  and  dairy  farming  to  the  most  intensive 
truck  farming;  from  the  orchard  fruit  to  almost  every  small  fruit  that  ever  gets  into 
the  market.  We  have  canneries  where  a  thousand  acres  go  into  one  crop  to  keep 
them  running  during  the  season,  and  we  have  gardens  and  truck  patches  consisting 
of  a  few  acres  where  crop  after  crop  comes  off  for  the  local  or  city  market.  Under 
these  circumstances  no  one  locality  can  properly  represent  the  varying  conditions 
found  throughout  the  State.  Therefore,  I  have  no  insectary  connected  with  my 
department  of  the  experiment  station,  and  while  at  one  time  I  thought  that  such  a 
thing  might  be  desirable,  I  have  long  since  abandoned  the  idea.  I  find  it  possible 
to  visit  localities  where  injurious  insects  occur,  at  short  intervals;  find  it  possible  to 
observe  them  in  the  field  under  absolutely  natural  conditions,  and  find  it  quite  pos- 
sible t;o  do  what  little  breeding  is  necessary  with  the  few  cages  in  the  laboratory.  I 
find  it  possible  also,  working  in  this  way.  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  the  farmer 
whose  crop  is  attacked  and  to  interest  him  in  the  study  as  well  as  in  the  fight  against 
the  insect.  He  will  make  applications  at  my  suggestion,  sometimes  when  I  furnish 
the  materials  and  at  other  times  when  lie  has  to  buy  them  himself;  but  he  sees 
exactly  what  I  am  driving  at.  He  learns  to  understand  the  theory  upon  which  it  is 
attempted  to  control  the  insect,  and  if  we  succeed,  he  forms  the  best  possible  teacher 
to  the  surroundings.     And  while  progress  is  sometimes  discouragingly  slow,  vet  when 


186 

1  look  back  a  dozen  years  and  sec  what  has  heen  actually  accomplished,  1  sometimes 
marvel  that  so  much  has  heen  done.  . 

Following  out  these  ideas  I  have  always  avoided  scientific  discussions  in  the  sta- 
tion publications.  Nor  have  I  ever  described  new  species  in  a  bulletin  with  the  idea 
of  rendering  them  recognizable  as  scientific  descriptions.  Occasionally  it  does  hap- 
pen that  an  undescribed  species  becomes  troublesome.  When  that  does  occur  the 
scientific  description  belongs  in  a  publication  where  the  specialists  will  be  apt  to  look 
for  it,  and  to  the  bulletins  belongs  only  so  much  as  is  necessary  to  identify  the  insect 
from  the  practical  standpoint.  I  am  aware  that  not  all  my  colleagues  agree  with  me 
in  this  matter,  but  then  I  am  stating  only  my  own  practice  and  beliefs,  and  am  not 
attempting  to  lay  down  laws  for  the  guidance  of  other  people. 

Neither  do  I  care  to  go  too  far  into  the  history  of  an  injurious  insect,  or  to  detail 
what  others  have  done  in  the  matter.  All  that  is  very  interesting  and  important 
in  a  paper  presented  before  a  body  like  this,  and  there  is  a  certain  fascination  in  fol- 
lowing out  from  the  earliest  times  what  has  been  done — for  instance  with  the  codling 
moth;  but  what  the  fruit  grower  wants  to  know  is  how  he  is  to  get  rid  of  the  codling 
moth  at  this  present  time,  and  he  cares  very  little  indeed  for  what  was  done  one 
hundred  or  even  fifty  years  ago.  I  do  not  believe  in  using  other  people's  observa- 
tions as  though  they  were  my  own,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  neither  do  I  believe  in 
the  necessity  of  citing  a  reference  for  every  statement  of  fact  that  has  become  public 
property.  When,  after  looking  up  what  has  been  published  on  any  particular  point, 
I  present  my  own  compiled  account  of  the  subject  to  the  farmer,  unless  I  present  it 
so  as  to  give  the  impression  that  I  had  personally  made  the  observations,  I  am  doing 
no  one  an  injustice  in  omitting  to  credit  every  individual  phase  of  the  subject  to  the 
one  who  actually  worked  it  out.  The  man  for  whom  it  is  written  would  probably 
not  understand  more  than  half  the  references,  and  would  certainly  never  take  the 
trouble  to  look  them  up.  On  the  other  hand,  where  I  quote  another  man's  recom- 
mendation I  give  him  full  credit  for  it,  if  only  to  avoid  the  responsibility  for  making 
it  myself. 

I  think  it  a  positive  disadvantage  to  make  too  many  citations,  because  it  gives  the 
reader  the  impression  that  you  know  very  little  about  the  subject  yourself,  and  are 
only  writing  out  what  somebody  else  has  said,  the  probability  being  that  that 
somebody  else  knew  just  as  little  about  it  as  you  do.  I  was  impressed  when  Doctor 
Fletcher  told  me  once  upon  a  time  about  the  importance  of  speaking  offhand  before 
farmers.  They  do  not  consider  the  preparation  of  a  formal  paper  any  evidence  of 
careful  preparation,  but  rather  consider  it  as  something  taken  from  a  book  and 
written  down  lest  you  forget  it.  I  feel  somewhat  the  same  way  in  the  preparation 
of  a  bulletin  and  try  to  make  it  a  readable  account,  claiming  nothing  for  myself  save 
what  appears  as  mine  from  the  narrative. 

In  a  general  way  I  may  sum  up  my  ideal  as  follows: 

(1)  To  make  a  clear  statement  of  the  character  of  the  injury  caused  to  a  crop  by  a 
specific  insect,  so  that  the  farmer  may,  if  he  sees  the  injury  alone,  be  enabled  to  refer 
it  to  the  proper  cause. 

(2)  To  explain  just  how  the  insect  causes  the  injury  and  in  which  stage  of  its  life 
cycle  it  is  injurious.  Tinder  this  head  such  anatomical  details  as  may  be  necessary 
to  show  how  the  injury  is  produced  may  be  presented. 

(3)  There  should  be  a  life  history  of  the  species  carrying  it  through  an  entire  year; 
with  the  danger  periods  emphasized  as  far  as  possible. 

(4)  The  experiments  made  should  be  given  in  some  detail.  My  experience  has 
been  that  a  farmer  likes  to  be  made  acquainted  with  the  processes  that  lead  up  to  the 
next  head. 

(5)  The  conclusions  and  reasons  for  the  conclusions. 

(6)  Last,  come  the  recommendations  for  practice;  and  if  the  other  points  have 
been  well  covered,  these  recommendations  will  need  very  little  explanation. 

I  do  not  claim  for  a  moment  that  I  have  in  all  cases  lived  up  to  my  ideal.  I  know 
that  in  some  cases  I  have  fallen  distinctly  short  of  it;  but  at  any  rate  there  has  beep 
an  advantage  in  knowing  that  I  was  working  toward  a  definite  end,  and,  such  as  it 
is,  it  is  presented  for  discussion  and  criticism. 

After  an  extended  discussion  in  which  the  main  points  of  the  paper  were  empha- 
sized, the  section  adjourned  for  the  day. 

In  the  absence  of  the  author,  C.  W.  Wopdworth,  of  California,  the  following  paper 
was  read  by  title: 

Cooperative  Work  in  Economic  P^ntomology. 

Under  Ibis  title  I  propose  to  discuss  a  form  of  cooperative  work  between  farmers 
and  the  experiment  station,  which,  while  possibly  not  presenting  anything  new  in 


187 

its  fundamental  conception,  still  has  developed  into  a  more  definite  policy  a1  the" 

California  Station  than  elsewhere. 
The  necessity  for  something  of  the  kind  arises  primarily  from  the  peculiar  diversity 

of  conditions  existing  in  this  State,  and  the  particular  form  of  cooperation  here 
developed  has  been  a  growth  dependent  largely  upon  the  distinctive  tendencies  of 
our  agriculture. 

One  of  the  features  of  California  farming  which  first  strikes  a  stranger  is  the  con- 
centration of  the  various  cultures  into  small  districts,  and  the  more  one  becomes 
acquainted  with  these  districts  and  their  peculiarities  the  more  significant  this  local 
specialization  appears.  Undoubtedly,  we  have  hardly  begun  to  determine  the  adap- 
tability of  the  larger  part  of  the  State  for  any  particular  culture,  hut  the  existing 
centers  of  production  represent  beyond  question  combinations  of  favorable  condi- 
"tions  not  usually  found  associated.  Some  of  these  conditions  may  he  artificial,  such 
as  nearness  to  markets,  etc.,  hut  most  of  them  are  strictly  natural  and  are  those 
which   we  loosely  group  together  as  soil  and  climate.     Sometimes  the  same  fruit, 

even  the  same  varieties,  may  be  grown  successfully  in  two  or  re  geographically 

different  regions  and  will  then  usually  present  peculiarities  as  to  earliness  or  quality 
that  will  mark  the  product  as  distinct.  For  instance  the  early  oranges  of  the  Palermo 
and  Porterville  districts  of  central  and  northern  California  ripen  a  month  before  the 
southern  California  fruit;  and  the  late  apples  of  the  Pajaro  Valley,  as  well  as  of  a  few 
smaller  coast  localities,  are  a  distinctive  product  of  unusual  quality. 

A  similar  series  of  phenomena  may  be  observed  in  respect  to  the  insects  of  eco- 
nomic importance.  No  insect  is  injurious  over  the  whole  region  where  its  food  plant 
is  grown.  The  Black  scale,  so  troublesome  in  southern  California,  is  practically 
unknown  in  the  olive  and  citrus  orchards  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  Val- 
ley. The  San  Jose  scale,  so  generally  destructive,  is  practically  unknown  in  the 
region  about  Berkeley.  The  codling  moth  is  unknown  in  some  of  our  best  and  old- 
est apple  orchards,  even  though  but  a  few  miles  away  and  generally  all  over  the 
State  it  is  a  pest  of  first  importance.  In  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  the  hopper  attack- 
ing the  grape  is  Tettigonia  circittata,  while  inmost  of  the  other  grape-growing  sect  ions 
the  ordinary  Typhlocyba  comes,  belonging  to  a  different  group  and  with  entirely 
different  life-history,  takes  its  place. 

The  economics  of  an  insect  in  any  particular  region  usually  presents  different 
problems  in  the  different  commercial  center  of  the  production  of  its  host  plant. 
With  these  facts  in  mind  it  is  at  once  perfectly  clear  that  it  is  necessary  to  go  into 
each  region  where  a  crop  is  grown  on  a  commercial  scale  and  there  study  the  prob- 
lems involved  in  the  suppression  of  the  insects  giving  the  trouble. 

It  was  a  recognition  of  this  general  principle  applying  to  most  agricultural  prob- 
lems that  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  experiment  stations  all  over  the  United 
States  instead  of  spending  the  same  funds  for  strengthening  the  work  of  the  Agricul- 
tural Department  at  Washington.  These  stations,  scattered  about  over  the  country, 
were  calculated  to  be  able  to  study  the  local  problems  where  they  could  be  best 
studied,  and  the  eastern  stations  do  cover  the  territory  quite  satisfactorily  as  far  as 
their  location  is  concerned. 

To  provide  adequately  for  the  varying  conditions  in  California  it  would  be  almost 
necessary  to  have  a  station  at  each  important  shipping  center  and  then  the  ground 
would  be  no  better  covered  than  by  the  stations  as  they  are  distributed  in  the  States 
bordering  the  Atlantic  coast. 

A  doctrine  that  should  control  the  administration  of  an  experiment  station  is  that 
the  funds  should  be  so  spent  as  to  return  to  the  State  and  the  country  at  large  the 
greatest  financial  benefit.  I  do  not  mean  that  abstract  problems  without  immediate 
economic  returns  should  not  be  investigated  by  the  station  when  they  are  funda- 
mental to  practice  or  theory  in  agriculture,  but  rather  that  they  should  be  pursued 
only  when  there  is  prospect  that  in  the  end  there  will  be  returns  to  justify  the  effort 
more  fully  than  other  lines  of  research. 

In  economic  entomology,  where  our  effort  is  to  prevent  losses  due  to  insects,  the 
best  place  for  our  study  will  ordinarily  be  that  locality  where  the  greatest  losses 
occur,  and  in  such  a  State  as  California  it  will  be  a  different  locality  for  almost  every 
problem  investigated.  There  is,  indeed,  work  enough  in  each  locality  to  profitably 
employ  one's  time  indefinitely,  but  with  our  diverse  conditions  and  lack  of  investi- 
gators it  is  usually  necessary  to  spend  only  a  season  or  part  of  a  season  in  one  place. 

Until  within  the  last  two  years  the  funds  available  from  the  station  fi  >r  entomological 
work  only  provided  for  occasional  trips  to  localities  where  insect  troubles  occurred 
and  such  cursory  examinations  can  by  no  means  be  classed  as  investigations.  Serious 
study  demands  considerable  time  and  consecutive  observation  of  the  results  of 
experiments.  An  investigator  must  be  located  where  he  can  study  the  insect  under 
the  best  conditions  and  stay  with  it  in  most  cases  through  a  twelve  months. 


L88 

The  only  way  it  seemed  possible  to  do  this  was  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  the 
growers  most  interested.  The  fact  that  the  producers  of  any  one  crop  are  usually  in 
one  locality  where  the  huge  contiguous  acreage  makes  the  aggregate  loss  very  evident, 
contributes  nol  a  little  to  their  appreciation  of  the  desirability  of  such  cooperation. 

The  firsl  arrangement  of  this  kind  will  well  illustrate  the  conditions,  methods,  and 
purposes  of  cooperative  work  of  this  kind.  The  hulk  of  the  peaches  grown  for 
eastern  shipment  as  fresh  fruit  is  produced  in  Placer  County  along  the  line  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  in  an  area  about  10  miles  long  and  extending  out  on  either 
side  not  over  4  or  5  miles. 

The  average  loss  for  the  preceding  four  years  from  the  attack  of  the  peach  worm 
had  exceeded  $300,000  per  year  in  spite  of  spraying  operations  done  in  accordance 
with  the  best  information  obtainable. 

In  response  to  the  urgent  request  of  the  peach  growers  of  that  locality  a  man  was 
placed  in  the  field  by  the  experiment  station,  and  the  people  of  Placer  County  paid 
the  local  expenses  of  the  investigation.  More  important  than  the  financial  aid  given 
was  the  feeling  of  personal  interest  aroused  in  the  orchardists  whereby  large  areas 
of  bearing  peach  orchards  were  placed  under  the  control  of  the  investigator  and  every- 
thing done  to  aid  in  his  work.      Indeed  the  real  cooperative  spirit  was  manifested. 

Station  entomologists  do  not  fully  enough  realize  the  importance  of  working  under 
commercial  conditions.  It  is  quite  a  different  thing  to  get  results  on  a  dozen  trees 
and  on  a  thousand  acres.  The  small  experiments  are  essential  in  securing  facts  upon 
which  to  base  our  work,  but  the  large  scale  experiment  is  the  final  test  of  the  prac- 
tical value  of  the  facts.  It  is  only  by  some  system  of  cooperation  that  an  investigator 
can  get  control  of  a  sufficient  experiment-station  plant  for  such  large  scale  work. 

Some  entomologists  hold  that  their  function  is  to  work  with  insects  to  the  extent 
of  determining  their  life  history,  habits,  and  such  matters,  and  when  this  is  accom- 
plished their  whole  duty  is  done,  and  the  facts  obtained  should  then  be  turned  over 
to  other  hands  to  bring  to  a  practical  conclusion.  For  these  the  name  "economic 
entomologist"  is  a  misnomer.  We  can  not  be  content  until  the  thing  is  accomplished 
toward  which  all  our  energies  are  directed,  namely,  the  decrease  of  the  loss  due  to 
insects. 

It  is  not  enough  to  "find  out  how  the  loss  can  be  prevented.  It  is  necessary  to 
demonstrate  this  to  the  farmer  in  such  a  way  that  it  shall  become  part  of  his  regular 
practice.  In  no  way  can  this  be  accomplished  so  well  as  by  this  cooperation  in  which 
the  leading  orchardists  of  a  district,  working  under  the  direction  and  direct  super- 
vision of  the  investigator,  succeed  in  saving  their  crops.  They  come  into  close  touch 
with  the  experiments  and  profit  by  the  failures  as  well  as  by  the  successes,  for  by 
their  very  nature  experiments  are  not  all  successes. 

The  peach  worm  investigation  proved  to  he  eminently  successful.  The  investiga- 
tion began  in  January  and  the  key  to  the  problem  was  discovered  before  the  first  of 
March,  so  that  it  was  possible  to  obtain  results  that  year.  Mr.  Clarke,  who  was  in 
charge  of  the  experiments,  addressed  meetings  of  growers  in  various  parts  of  the  dis- 
trict and  by  the  use  of  the  local  press  made  known  the  facts  obtained  by  his  laboratory 
experiments,  and  the  recommendations  based  thereon  appealed  to  the  good  sense  of 
the  growers  to  such  an  extent  that  nearly  90  per  cent  of  the  acreage  in  peaches  were 
sprayed  as  directed;  this  includes  the  orchards  under  the  immediate  control  of  Mr. 
Clarke  for  experimental  purposes. 

But  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  further  detail,  for  the  results  are  known  to  you 
through  the  publications  of  our  station. 

We  did  not  know  at  the  time  how  complete  a  victory  had  been  secured  until  the 
season  advanced  toward  ]>icking  time,  and  the  insect  was  followed  with  the  greatest 
rare  and  with  the  expectation  of  continuing  the  attack,  but  the  spring  operations 
had  accomplished  all  that  could  he  desired. 

The  loss  had  been  reduced  where  the  spraying  was  well  done  and  all  conditions 
favorable  to  an  amount  below  1  per  cent  in  orchards  which  the  year  before  had 
suffered  to  the  extent  of  half  the  crop. 

It  is  not  often  that  such  results  can  be  secured  with  so  little  effort,  and,  under 
ordinary  experimental  conditions,  it  would  have  required  years  to  introduce  the 
treatment  as  an  established  practice.  In  this  case  the  attitude  of  the  peach  grower 
changed  from  helplessness  to  confidence,  and  the  past  season,  without  any  supervision 
from  the  station,  they  have  been  able  to  entirely  duplicate  last  year's  results.  The 
insect  has  changed  from  the  worst  pest  in  this  region  to  one  of  the  least. 

Other  cooperative  investigations  have  been  conducted  in  Los  Angelos,  Sutter,  Yuba, 
Stanislaus, -Marin,  Santa  Cruz,  and  Monterey  counties.  Most  of  these  have  been 
comparatively  small  studies,  but  one,  that  of  the  Pajaro  Valley  on  the  codling  moth, 
now  nearly  concluded,  has  involved  the  expenditure  of  $2,750  contributed  by  the 
locality,  the  use  of  several  hundred  acres  of  bearing  orchards,  the  losses  in  some  of 
which,  through  unsuccessful  spraying  experiments,  has  probably  equaled  the  direct 


189 

contribution  of  funds.  This  does  nol  Include  the  cosl  of  spraying,  which  was  borne 
by  the  orchardists  the  same  as  other  cultural  operations. 

The  problems  presented  by  this  investigation  were  very  much  more  difficull  to 
handle,  and  will  have  to  be  continued  through  another  season  at  leasl  before  they 
can  be  satisfactorily  settled,  but  much  has  been  Learned  which  will  be  discussed  in  a 
series  of  bulletins,  the  first  of  which  is  about  to  he  published. 

Some  of  the  results  of  the  studies  upon  the  cause  of  the  spotting  of  oranges,  which 
were  supposed  to  he  dm1  in  some  cases  to  red  spider  and  in  other  cases  to  distillate 
spraying,  have  already  appeared  in  bulletin  form,  as  well  as  the  study  of  the  red 
spider  attacking  almonds.  The  other  investigations  are  still  under  way  and  repre- 
sent quite  a  variety  of  problems,  some  of  which  may  never  yield  results  of  much 
significance. 

The  demands  for  assistance  have  been  very  pressing,  and  the  difficulty  has  been 
to  provide  men   for  the  purpose  who  are  capable  of  conducting  such  studies.     The 

plan  has  been  to  detail  advanced  students  for  this  work,  selecting  such  as  have 
shown  special  aptitude  for  research  work  and  who  are  reliable,  and  to  so  supervise 
their  experiments  that  they  will  be  saved  from  making  the  mistakes  which,  because 
of  inexperience,  they  would  be  liable  to  do  if  working  alone.  This  has  involved  a 
large  amount  of  traveling — over  16,000  miles  this  season;  but  the  results  have  justi- 
fied the  effort.  These  investigations  have  been  particularly  valuable  because  01  the 
opportunity  they  have  afforded  of  giving  the  students  actual  practice  in  entomo- 
logical research  under  unusually  favorable  conditions. 

When  we  are  called  upon  for  an  investigation  which  we  consider  important 
enough  and  have  a  student  available  for  the  purpose,  our  policy  has  been  to  reply 
that  we  will  place  an  assistant  in  the  field,  who  will  be  paid  by  the  station  and  work 
under  direct  supervision  of  the  entomologist  at  Berkeley,  in  case  they  consider  it 
important  enough  to  pay  the  local  expenses  of  the  investigation. 

These  local  expenses  will  ordinarily  consist  of  the  items  of  board,  a  room  for  labor- 
atory, and  generally  the  use  of  a  horse  and  buggy.  Microscopes  and  such  laboratory 
apparatus  are  brought  from  Berkeley,  and  the  people  of  the  locality  are  always  glad 
to  offer  without  any  special  arrangement  the  use  of  orchards  for  experimental  pur- 
poses, and  the  material  and  labor  for  whatever  spraying  apparatus  may  be  desired. 

The  above  sketch  of  the  California  system  of  cooperative  work  in  entomology  is 
presented  with  the  thought  that  though  it  may  not  be  applicable  in  its  entirety  in 
other  regions,  certain  features  of  it,  nevertheless,  may  be  of  value  elsewhere. 

C.  M.  Weed,  of  New  Hampshire,  gave  a  short  description  of  his  methods  of  keep- 
ing notes  and  storing  specimens,  showing  samples  of  the  boxes  used.  Other  mem- 
bers took  part  in  the  discussion  that  followed. 

The  following  paper  by  A.  F.  Burgess,  of  Ohio,  was  read: 

The  Necessity  foe  Uniform  Methods  of  Inspection  and  Treatment  of  Nursery 

Stock. 

With  the  advent  of  the  San  Jose  scale  in  some  of  the  larger  nurseries  in  the  eastern 
States  it  became  necessary  to  establish  some  system  of  inspection  of  growing  stock  in 
order  to  protect  the  horticulturist  from  having  this  pest  introduced  upon  his  prem- 
ises on  young  trees  or  plants  which  he  might  buy.  The  reasors  for  such  inspection 
were  chiefly  due  to  the  rapidity  with  which  this  insect  would  multiply,  its  deadly 
effect  upon  the  trees  and  plants  attacked,  and  the  almost  entire  absence  of  suitable 
remedies  for  its  control.  Fruit  growers  and  nurserymen  alike  were  anxious  to  keep 
their  premises  free  from  this  pest,  and  enough  public  sentiment  was  soon  aroused  in 
many  of  the  States  to  procure  laws  designed  to  prevent  its  introduction  and  to  pro- 
vide for  the  control  of  this  insect.  In  most  cases  other  dangerously  injurious  pests 
were  specified  in  the  laws,  so  that  the  scope  of  nursery  inspection  was  considerably 
broadened  from  the  original  plan. 

In  order  to  prevent  the  dissemination  and  secure  the  control  of  any  insect  pest  it 
is  essential  that  the  movement  in  that  direction  be  attended  with  no  delay,  and  that 
the  work  be  placed  in  competent  and  experienced  hands.  Many  of  the  States  failed 
to  pass  the  legislation  necessary  to  provide  for  this  work,  and  as  a  result  they  have 
been  made  the  dumping  ground  for  the  diseased  stock  from  other  States  which 
already  had  inspection  laws,  and  the  problem  of  control  has  become  far  more  diffi- 
cult than  w'ould  otherwise  have  been  the  case.  Promptness  in  dealing  with  this  pest 
is  imperative,  and  the  horticultural  interests  are  now  reaping  the'  harvest  for  having 
delayed  action,  and  will  continue  to  bear  the  burden  of  applying  insecticidal  treat- 
ment to  orchards,  the  infestation  of  which  might  have  been  prevented  had  the  work 
been  provided  for  at  the  proper  time. 


190 

With  the  passage  of  the  inspection  laws  it  became  necessary  to  organize  a  force  to 
carry  on  this  line  of  work.  In  most  cases  this  work  was  delegated  to  the  State  ento- 
mologist or  the  entomologists  of  the  State  experiment  stations.  In  States  where  few 
nurseries  existed  the  matter  of  inspection  required  but  little  time,  but  where  the 
nursery  interests  were  large  it  was  necessary  to  perfect  some  system  of  inspection  so 
thai  a  careful  record  might  be  kept  of  each  nursery  from  year  to  year.  It  was  also 
necessary  to  thoroughly  train  men  for  this  particular  kind  of  work,  which,  of  course, 
required  time,  careful  selection,  and  thorough  drilling. 

Nearly  all  the  laws  relating  to  inspection  require  that  an  examination  of  each 
nursery  and  premises  be  made  annually.  They  also  provide  that,  if  the  nursery  stock 
and  premises  is  found  apparently  free  from  dangerously  injurious  insect  pests  and 
plant  diseases,  that  the  owner  shall  he  given  a  certificate  of  inspection  stating  the 
facts.  This  places  the  responsibility  for  the  condition  of  any  nursery  upon  the  party 
who  is  authorized  to  issue  such  certificates. 

Freedom  from  injurious  pests,  and  hence  tin-  value  of  a  certificate  of  inspection, 
depends  largely  upon  the  party  who  makes  the  examination;  hence  it  is  desirable 
t'.iat  the  work  should  he  carefully  and  systematically  done  and  that  the  inspector 
should  he  a  well-trained  and  a  keen  observer.  In  the  early  days  of  nursery  inspec- 
tion it  is  doubtless  true  that  many  nurseries  were  examined  in  a  superficial  manner 
which  would  not  stand  the  test  of  nursery  inspection  as  it  has  been  developed  at  this 
time.  Each  year  results  in  the  adoption  of  more  perfect  methods,  based  upon  pre- 
vious successes  or  failures.  On  the  whole  this  work  has  been  highly  beneficial  to 
nurserymen  in  preventing  the  introduction  and  dissemination  of  infested  stock,  and 
lias  saved  many  times  its  cost  to  the  fruit  growers  of  the  country. 

Before  discussing  some  of  the  methods  employed  by  the  division  of  nursery  and 
orchard  inspection  of  the  Ohio  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  it  may  be  well  to  consider 
some  of  the  principal  sources  from  which  nurseries  may  become  infested  with  the 
San  Jose  scale.  The  location  of  the  nursery  premises  will  often  determine  to  a  large 
extent  its  liability  to  infestation.  One  of  the  most  difficult  phases  of  the  nursery 
problem  with  which  the  inspector  is  called  upon  to  deal  is  where  the  stock  is  grown 
in  cities  or  towns,  or  adjoining  neglected  orchards.  It  has  been  the  common  prac- 
tice among  the  owners  of  city  lots  to  buy  trees  and  shrubs  in  a  promiscuous  fashion 
from  irresponsible  agents  and  tree  pedlars,  and  this  has  been  the  primary  cause  of 
the  infestation  of  many  districts  in  thickly  settled  communities.  In  cases  where 
nursery  grounds  are  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  it  is  a  difficult  problem  to  prevent 
the  infestation  of  the  growing  stock,  as  many  owners  of  such  lots  take  very  little 
interest  in  the  condition  of  their  trees,  and  the  treatment  which  they  apply  is  apt  to 
be  hastily  or  carelessly  done.  Neglected  orchards  also  furnish  a  convenient  breeding 
ground  if  this  pest  once  becomes  established,  and  as  it  is  expensive  to  properly  treat 
them,  the  problem  of  controlling  the  scale  is  a  very  serious  one.  Aside  from  nurseries 
that  are  located  in  such  situations  (and  on  the  whole  they  furnish  a  very  small  per- 
centage of  the  actual  number  of  nurseries  in  Ohio),  the  principal  cause  of  nursery 
infestation  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  use  of  affected  cuttings  and  buds  in  the  prop- 
agation of  young  stock.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  the  writer  for  several  years  to 
advise  and  urge  nurserymen  nev.r  to  use  buds,  grafts,  or  scions  in  their  nurseries 
unless  they  have  been  properly  fumigated.  In  spite  of  this  advice  several  cases  have 
been  found  where;  stock  had  become  quite  seriously  infested  with  the  scale,  the  canst; 
being  directly  traceable  to  the  use  of  cuttings  and  buds  taken  from  badly  infested 
orchard  several  miles  distant.  It  therefore  becomes  apparent  that  one  of  the  duties 
of  any  nursery  inspector  should  be  to  ascertain  the  source  from  which  the  buds  and 
cuttings  have  been  obtained  and  also  to  satisfy  himself  concerning  their  proper 
fumigation. 

In  order  to  test  the  effect  of  hydrocyanic-acid  gas  on  the  buds  which  were  about 
to  be  set,  the  writer  conducted  a  series  of  experiments  during  the  summer  of  1902. 
Peach  buds  were  used  fortius  purpose,  as  they  were  the  most  tender  species  obtain- 
able at  that  time.  It  was  found  that  a  charge  consisting  of  three-fourths  of  an  ounce 
of  potassium  cyanid,  three-fourths  of  an  ounce  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  2\  ounces  of 
water  to  each  100  cubic  feet  of  space  was  effective  in  Trilling  the  San  Jose  scale  and 
did  not  injure  the  buds.  They  were  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  gas  for  forty  minutes. 
In  fact,  when  the  cyanid  was  used  at  the  rate  of  1  ounce  to  each  100  cubic  feet  no 
injury  to  tin;  buds  resulted  if  they  were  not  exposed  for  a  greater  length  of  time. 
The  effect  of  the  gas  upon  the  scale  was  tested  by  fumigating  badly"  infested  apples 
at  thesame  timewith  bud  sticks.  Dippingthe  bud  sticks  for  fifteen  minutes  in  whale- 
oil  soap  mixture,  when  used  at  the  rate  of  2  pounds  of  soap  to  each  gallon  of  water, 
does  not  prevent  the  buds  from  developing,  but  renders  them  unpleasant  to  handle 
and  more  difficult  to  set  in  the  seedling  trees.  This  method  is  less  satisfactory  than 
fumigation,  as  it  can  not  be  depended  upon  to  kill  all  of  the  old  female  scales.     From 


191 

these  experiments  it  will  lie  seen  that  any  nurseryman  can  prevent  the  introduction 
of  the  San  Jose  scale  into  his  plantings  upon  buds,  grafts,  and  scions,  by  carefully 
fumigating  before  using  them  on  his  premises. 

It  IS  the  custom  in  Ohio  to  examine  the  trees  row  by  row  in  I  he  hi  nailer  nurseries, 
taking  advantage  of  thedirection  in  which  the  sun  is  shining.     A  careful  examination 

can  not  he  made  without  inspecting  the  trees  near  t  he  ground,  for  it'  any  infested  buds 
or  grafts  have  been  brought  into  the  nursery  the  scale  will  he  most  abundant  at  the 

point  where  the  budding  or  grafting  took  place.  Inspection  of  nursery  stock  is  a 
laborious  task,  and  no  man  can  become  a  successful  inspector  who  is  not  willing  to 
hend  his  hack  or  who  is  afraid  that  his  clothes  may  become  soiled  from  the  contact 
with  the  dirt.  Only  a  general  inspection  is  made  of  seedling  stock  and  1-year-old 
grafts,  which  are  to  remain  on  the  premises  and  are  not  to  1m-  offered  for  sale.  The 
next  annual  inspection  of  such  stock  is  very  thoroughly  made  in  order  to  ascertain 
its  condition.  One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  encountered  in  nursery  inspection  is  in 
properly  examining  peach  trees.  These  are  rapid  growers,  and  if  the  inspection  is 
made  early  in  the  summer  the  tret  s  are  usually  well  covered  with  foliage,  so  that  it 
is  very  difficult  to  examine  them  closely.  In  cases  where  any  suspicion  is  aroused 
that  they  may  be  infested  a  reexamination  is  made  later  in  the  season,  after  the  trees 
have  been  trimmed.  In  the  large  nurseries,  where  it  is  impossible  to  make  a  row-by- 
row  examination,  the  method  followed  is  for  the  inspector  to  pass  hack  and  forth 
across  the  blocks,  examining  the  trees  on  either  hand.  It  is  customary  to  cross  them 
at  intervals  of  about  15  feet,  and  in  this  way  all  the  varieties  are  examined.  In  ease 
any  infested  trees  are  found  a  tree-by-tree  examination  is  made. 

Great  care  should  bo  taken  to  examine  carefully  the  paekingand  heeling-in  grounds 
and  the  nursery  premises,  and  special  attention  should  be  given  to  such  surplus  stock 
as  is  allowed  to  remain  after  the  packing  season  is  over. 

It  is,  however,  beyond  the  realm  of  human  ]  ossibility  for  any  man  to  say  that  a 
nursery  is  absolutely  free  from  the  San  Jose  scale,  no  matter  how  thoroughly  the 
examination  may  have  been  made,  and  this  is  the  principal  defect  in  the" present 
system  of  nursery  inspection. 

It  is  also  well-nigh  impossible  to  detect  infestation  with  woolly  aphis  or  infection 
by  crown  gall,  as  an  examination  of  the  roots  is  usually  necessary;  hence,  nursery- 
men are  instructed,  under  penalty  of  having  their  certificates  revoked,  not  to  ship 
trees  having  roots  affected  by  these  pests. 

Doubtless  the  methods  thus  far  indicated  are,  in  the  main,  used  by  all  nursery 
inspectors;  hence,  very  fewr  suggestions  as  to  uniformity  can  be  made. 

The  system  of  keeping  reports  of  inspection  must  vary  with  the  local  necessities, 
based  on  the  judgment  of  the  inspector  in  each  State.  Such  reports  should  be  made 
on  blanks  that  can  be  filed  systematically,  so  that  the  condition  of  any  nursery  can 
be  easily  determined. 

It  is  the  policy  of  the  majority  of  the  States  to  accept  an  official  certificate  of  inspec- 
tion from  another  State  inspector  at  its  face  value.  Several  of  the  western  States 
require  that  all  stock  which  is  shipped  in  shall  be  examined  by  the  local  inspectors 
before  it  is  planted,  and  the  Dominion  of  Canada  has  adopted  the  rule  of  fumigating 
all  stock  from  without  at  certain  specified  points  of  entry. 

Alabama,  Georgia,  and  Virginia  have  enacted  laws  providing  that  no  stock  from 
outside  the  State  shall  be  delivered  within  their  borders,  unless  it  is  accompanied 
with  a  valid  certificate  of  inspection,  together  with  an  official  tag  issued  by  the  State 
entomologist.  This  is  an  additional  precaution  designed  to  assure  the  State  entomol- 
ogist that  the  certificate  of  an  outside  nurseryman  is  satisfactory  before  tags  are 
issued  allowing  him  to  do  business  in  the  State. 

Several  States  require  that  all  nonresident  nurserymen  shall  secure  a  license  before 
being  allowed  to  transact  business  within  their  State,  it  being  granted  after  the 
presentation  of  a  satisfactory  certificate  of  inspection  and  the  payment  of  a  definite 
fee.  Some  strong  arguments  are  put  forth  "in  favor  of  a  tag  system,  and  it  has 
undoubtedly  been  of  considerable  value  in  the  States  where  it  is  in  use;  still  it  would 
appear  that  the  universal  adoption  of  the  system  would  be  a  source  of  confusion  to 
the  larger  nurserymen  who  do  business  in  many  States,  and  it  would  make  the  situa- 
tion far  more  complex  than  it  is  at  present. 

Owing  to  the  fallibility  of  certificates  of  inspection,  based  on  the  fact  that  occasional 
infested  shipments  are  received,  several  States  have  provided,  either  by  legal  enact- 
ments or  by  official  regulations,  that  all  stock  received  from  outside  nurseries  must 
be  fumigated  before  it  is  planted. 

This  applies  in  Connecticut,  Georgia,  Michigan,  New  York,  Idaho,  and  Utah.  The 
last  two  require  that  an  official  certificate  of  fumigation  shall  be  attached  to  each 
shipment. 

Properly  conducted  fumigation  is  a  very  satisfactory  way  of  treating  stock:  the 


192 

chief  essentials  are  that  the  house  shall  be  gas  tight,  the  chemicals  of  high  grade, 
and  applied  in  the  proper  proportions  for  a  Bumcien*  length  of  time  to  kill  the  scales 
without  injuring  the  stock.  Failure  to  observe  any  one  of  these  details  is  likely  to 
cause  the  treatment  to  be  unsatisfactory;  hence,  great  care  is  necessary  in  applying 
this  process.  The  recommendations  for  fumigation  issued  by  most  of  the  State 
inspectors  are  uniform  as  to  the  lirst  two  essentials,  but  a  wide  variation  occurs  in 
the  formula  advised  and  the  length  of  time  required  for  treatment. 

In  a  few  cases  the  charges  required  to  be  used  are  fixed  by  law,  but  it  is  doubtless 
fair  to  presume  that  most  of  them  are  either  copied  or  modified  forms  of  the  formula 
recommended  by  the  Division  ol"  Entomology  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 
or  are  based  on  the  extensive  fumigation  experiment"  of  Prof.  W.  G.  Johnson. 

The  one  recommended  by  the  Division  of  Entomology,  and  which  may  be  called 
the  1,  1,  3  formula,  that  is,  one  ounce  of  potassium  cyan  id,  one  fluid  ounce  of 
sulphuric  acid,  and  three  fluid  ounces  of  wate  to  each  100  cubic  feet  of  space,  for 
a  time  exposure  of  forty  minutes,  has  been  used  since  1900  by  the  government 
inspectors  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  I  am  informed  by  Dr.  James  Fletcher, 
the  Dominion  entomologist,  that  it  has  given  perfect  "at isf action.  This  formula  has 
been  used  in  Ohio  for  nearly  two  years  in  fumigating  all  kinds  of  nursery  stock,  and 
no  complaint  has  been  received  of  any  injury  to  the  stock.  In  the  case  of  the 
fumigation  of  bud  sticks  or  scions  during  tin-1  summer,  three-fourths  of  the  amounts  of 
cyanid  and  acid  have  been  advised,  although  no  injury  has  resulted  if  the  full 
strength  formula  was  applied  forty  minutes. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  the  inspectors  or  officials  having  charge  of  nursery  inspec- 
tion, the  writer  has  received  a  statement  of  the  formula  recommended  or  required  in 
twenty-seven  States. 

In  fourteen  States  the  proportions  recommended  vary  so  slightly  from  the  1,  1,  3 
formula  that  very  little  change  would  be  necessary  in  order  to  make  them  perfectly 
uniform. 

California  and  Oregon  recommend  a  1,  1,  2  formula  with  forty  minutes'  time  expo- 
sure. Virginia  recommends  a  1,  1A,  3  formula  with  forty  minutes'  time  exposure. 
Georgia,  Kentucky,  and  Illinois  use  a  1,  1],  3  formula  with  a  fifty-minute  exposure, 
while  the  formula  required  in  Alabama  is  the  same  with  an  exposure  of  forty-live 
minutes.  New  York  requires  a  1,  1£,  3  formula  with  an  exposure  of  from  thirty  to 
forty-five  minutes. 

Connecticut,  Pennsylvania,  and  West  Virginia  use  a  1,  2,  4  formula  with  a  thirty- 
minute  exposure,  and  the  same  amount  of  chemicals  are  used  in  New  Jersey,  but  the 
time  is  lengthened  to  sixty  minutes. 

In  North  Carolina  a  1,  1?,  2o  formula,  and  in  Delaware  and  Montana  a  1,  1.},  2} 
formula  is  required. 

In  the  remaining  twelve  States  the  proportions  vary  from  a  f ,  f ,  2  formula  for 
150  cubic  feet  for  a  forty-minute  exposure  to  one  where  2  ounces  of  cyanid  are  used 
for  the  same  amount  of  space  and  the  stock  exposeo  three  hours. 

Several  States  have  adopted  a  formula  based  on  the  metric  system,  and  as  the  pro- 
portions used  vary  considerably,  this  would  not  appear  to  be  a  step  in  the  direction 
of  securing  uniformity. 

In  a  number  of  cases  the  charges  are  reduced  from  one-fourth  or  one-third  the 
required  formula  for  the  treatment  of  peach,  plum,  and  tender  stock. 

It  is  unquestionably  true  that  fumigation  is  destined  to  become  more  important  in 
nursery  inspection  work  than  it  has  been  in  the  past,  and  doubtless  more  States  will 
be  added  to  the  list  of  those  that  require  a  certificate  of  fumigation  on  all  stock  that 
is  shipped  in  from  other  States.  This  being  the  case,  it  would  appear  most  desirable 
that  a  standard  formula  be  adopted,  as  it  would  seem  inconsistent  for  an  inspector  to 
require  a  definite  formula  used  in  his  own  State  and  still  accept  stock  from  other  States 
fumigated  in  a  manner  that  he  would  not  permit  at  home. 

As  pointed  out  by  Dr.  S.  A.  Forbes  in  his  address  at  the  last  annual  meeting  of  this 
section,  nursery  inspection  "legislation  has  not  yet  reached  its  permanent  form,  but 
is  still  in  process  of  adaptation  and  development."  This  being  the  case,  every  reason- 
able effort  should  be  made  to  secure  uniformity  of  methods  as  a  means  of  facilitating 
the  administration  of  the  work  of  protecting  the  fruitgrowers  from  injurious  pests 
and  of  aiding  and  not  hampering  the  nurseryman  in  the  conduct  of  his  business. 

It  was  informally  agreed  to  defer  the  discussion  of  this  paper  to  the  meeting  of  the 
Association  of  Horticultural  Inspectors. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  tor  the  next  meeting,  chairman,  H.  E.  Summers, 
Iowa;  secretary,  W.  E.-Britton,  Connecticut. 

The  section  then  adjourned. 


193 

SECTION  ON  MECHANIC  ARTS. 


No  sessions  of  this  section  were  held. 


SECTION  ON  EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK. 


Two  meetings  of  this  section  organized  under  the  amended  constitution  were  held 
November  18  and  19,  1903. 

The  section  was  called  to  order  by  the  secretary  of  the  association  and  effected  an 
organization  by  the  election  of  E.  B.  Voorhees  as  temporary  chairman,  and  H.  P. 
Arinsby  as  temporary  secretary. 

On  motion  of  C.  D.  "Woods,  it  was  voted  that  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  by 
the  chair  to  recommend  to  the  section  what  officers,  if  any,  be  elected  in  addition  to 
those  provided  for  in  the  constitution,  and  to  present  nominations  for  all  officers, 
including  the  two  members  of  the  executive  committee.  The  chair  appointed  as  this 
committee  C.  D.  Woods,  of  Maine;  H.  J.  Patterson,  of  Maryland;  W.  M.  Liggett,  of 
Minnesota;  H.  T.  French,  of  Idaho,  and  R.  J.  Redding,  of  Georgia. 

The  following  resolution,  offered  by  W.  H.  Jordan,  of  New  York,  was  unanimously 
adopted : 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  by  the  chairman  to  report  to  this 
section,  during  the  present  session  of  the  association,  recommendations  for  the  organi- 
zation of  the  work  of  this  section. 

The  chairman  appointed  as  such  committee  H.  P.  Armsby,  of  Pennsylvania;  C.  F. 
Curtiss,  of  Iowa;  C.  E.  Thorne,  of  Ohio;  J.  L.  Hills,  of  Vermont,  and  B.  W.  Kilgore, 
of  North  Carolina. 

The  committee  appointed  to  consider  the  question  of  officers  for  the  section 
reported,  recommending  that  the  officers  consist  of  a  chairman,  a  secretary,  and  a 
standing  committee  of  three  on  programme,  of  which  the  secretary  of  the  section 
shall  be  ex-officio  chairman.     This  report  was  adopted. 

The  same  committee  also  reported  the  following  nominations: 

For  members  of  the  executive  committee,  W.  H.  Jordan,  of  New  York,  and  C.  F. 
Curtiss,  of  Iowa. 

For  chairman  of  the  section,  E.  H.  Jenkins,  of  Connecticut. 

For  secretary  of  the  section,  M.  A.  Scovell,  of  Kentucky. 

For  committee  on  programme,  the  secretary  ex-officio,  J.  H.  Shepperd,  of  North 
Dakota,  and  B.  W.  Kilgore,  of  North  Carolina. 

Upon  motion  the  secretary  of  the  section  was  authorized  to  cast  the  ballot  of  the 
section  for  these  nominations,  which  was  done,  and  they  were  declared  duly  elected. 

The  committee  appointed  to  consider  the  organization  of  the  work  of  the  section 
reported  as  follows: 

Your  committee  has  been  directed  to  report  recommendations  for  the  organization 
of  the  work  of  this  section.  A  necessary  preliminary  to  this  is  a  clear  conception  of 
what  that  work  is.  The  newly  adopted  constitution  broadly  designates  the  section 
as  the  "Section  on  Experiment  Station  Work."  Your  committee  interprets  this 
phraseology  to  mean,  in  the  first  place,  that  it  is  the  function  of  this  section  to  con- 
sider all  phases  of  station  activity,  including  on  the  one  hand  those  administrative 
questions  which  concern  the  relations  of  the  station  to  the  public,  to  the  institution 
of  which  it  forms  a  part,  and  to  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  of 
the  various  departments  of  the  station  to  each  other;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  it 
is  no  less  its  work  to  discuss  methods  and  appliances  of  research  in  all  the  varied 
departments  of  agriculture  in  its  broadest  sense. 

21736— No.  142—04 13 


194 

In  the  second  place,  we  understand  that  the  new  constitution  contemplates  the 
discussion  of  all  these  questions  by  a  single  section,  having,  indeed,  authority  to 
subdivide  it  it  should  seem  expedient,  but  still  essentially  one  organization.  In  the 
past,  questions  relating  to  research  in  agriculture  have,  at  various  times,  been  con- 
sidered m  from  two  to  five  different  sections,  often  meeting  simultaneously,  while  no 
definite  provision  has  existed  for  the  discussion  of  the  specific  administrative  ques- 
tions which  confront  the  stations.  There  is  now  substituted  for  this  state  of  things 
a  single  gathering  of  station  workers,  to  which  chemist  and  botanist,  agronomist, 
zootechnist,  and  entomologist,  as  well  as  director,  may  each  bring  his  contribution 
and  where  each  may  profit  by  the  broader  view  thus  secured  of  the  relation  of  his 
specialty  to  the  work  as  a  whole.  We  look  upon  this  unification  as  a  very  important 
advance  and  as  affording  a  great  opportunity  for  promoting  the  efficiency  of  the 
experiment-station  enterprise. 

Guided  by  these  considerations,  your  committee  submits  the  following  recom- 
mendations: 

(1)  That  the  section  do  not,  for  the  present,  subdivide. 

I  2  )  That  two  general  classes  of  questions  be  considered  at  meetings  of  the  section, 
viz:  (a)  Questions  of  station  administration,  (b)  Methods  and  appliances  for  inves- 
tigation. 

(3)  That  meetings  of  the  section  be  not  regarded  as  the  place  for  the  presentation 
of  results  of  experiments  or  for  the  reading  of  general  papers. 

(4)  That,  as  regards  the  second  class  of  questions,  the  programme  for  anyone  con- 
vention include  but  one  general  line  of  work,  to  be  selected  by  the  section  at  the 
previous  convention  upon  recommendation  of  the  committee  on  programme,  pro- 
vided that  the  committee  on  programme  may  recommend  the  addition  to  the  pro- 
gramme thus  provided  for  of  special  topics  of  unusual  interest. 

The  section  has  already  wisely  provided,  on  recommendation  of  another  committee, 
for  a  committee  on  programme.  It  is  obvious  that  the  success  of  the  section  will 
largely  depend  upon  the  work  of  this  committee,  and  we  believe  there  is  a  general 
feeling  that  in  some  way  an  element  of  permanence  and  continuity  should  be  given 
to  the  committee  on  programme.  In  this  present  formative  stage  of  the  matter, 
however,  it  seems  to  us  that  the  section  might  wisely  content  itself  with  a  general 
recognition  of  the  principle  involved,  leaving  the  practical  application  to  be  worked 
out  in  the  light  of  future  experience. 

On  motion  the  report  of  the  committee  was  adopted. 

After  an  informal  discussion  by  the  section  of  the  selection  of  a  subject  for  the 
meeting  of  the  section  at  the  next  convention,  the  matter  was  referred  to  the  com- 
mittee on  programme,  with  the  understanding  that  it  make  an  early  report. 

The  section  then  adjourned. 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


Allen,  E.  W.,  12. 

Allen.  R.  M..  11. 

Alvord.  H.  E.,  12,42. 

Alwood,  W.  B.,  12. 

Anderson.  F.  P.,  11. 

Andrews,  E.  B..  11,30,56,76,77,86. 

Armsby.  H.  P.,  10,12,32,61,87,193. 

Arthur.  J.  C,  11. 

Atherton.  G.  W.,  9,10,12,54,60,87. 

Austin.  0.  F..  11. 

Averill,  H.  0..  11. 

Aylesworth,  B.  O.,  11. 

Bailey,  J.  W.,  11. 

Bailey.  L.  H.,  10.11,61,89,117. 

Ball,  C.  R.,  12. 

Beal.  W.  H.,  12. 

Belz,  J.  O.,  12. 

Bernays,  \V.,  11. 

Breckenridge,  G.  F.,  11. 

Britton,  W.  E.,  11,184,192. 

Brown,  E.,  10,62. 

Bryan,  E.  A.,  10,12,55,57,75,78,94. 

Buckham,  M.  H.,  10,12,17,33. 

Buckley,  S.  S.,  11. 

Buffum,  B.  C,  9,12,84,87. 

Burgess,  A.  F.,  6,11,189. 

Burkett,  C.  W.,  11. 

Butterfield,  K.  L.,  12. 

Calm,  C.  E.,  11. 

Cameron,  F.  K..  12,104. 

Card,  F.  W.,  10.62. 

Carleton,  M.  A..  12,168. 

Carpenter,  L.  G.,  6,10,11,21,78,125. 

Castro,  J.  M..  12. 

Chalmers,  J.,  12. 

Chesnut,  V.  K.,  11. 

Clark,  J.  A.,  9, 12. 31. 

Clinton,  L.  A.,  11. 

Close,  C.  P.,  11. 

Coates,  C.  E..  jr..  11,86,89,94. 

Conn,  H.  W.,  11. 

Cope,  A.,  10. 

Corbett,  L.  C,  12. 

Coville,F.V.,12,160. 

Critchfield,N.B.,  12. 

Crosby,  D.  J.,  12. 

Crosby,  M.  A.,  12. 

Curtiss,  C.  F.,  9,  10,  11,  44,  61,  83,  84,  87,  193. 

Dabney,  C.  W.,  1U,  12,  21,  33,  56. 

Davenport,  E.,  9,  11,  31,  89. 

Dinwiddie,  S.  H.,  11. 

Doane,  C.  F..  11. 

Duggar.  J.  F.,  10,  11,  74. 


Eastman,  Mrs.  <>.  X.,  11. 

Eaton,  R.  ()..  11. 

Evans,  W.  H..  12. 

Failyer,  G.  H.,  12. 

Fairchild,  D.  G.,  12. 

Fanner.  J.  L.,  12. 

Fellows,  G.  E.,  9,  11.  87,  89,  94. 

Felt,  E.  P.,  6,  11,  182. 

Fields,  J..  11. 

Foord.J.  A.,  11. 

Forbes.  R.  H..  6.  11. 

Fortier,  S.,  10.  83. 

Foster,  L.,  11. 

Frear,  W.,  10,  12.  54. 

French,  H.  T..  10.  11,  74,  193. 

French,  Mrs.  H.  T..  11. 

Galloway,  B.  T..  10.  12,  78.  87. 

Gibbs,  W.  D.,  11,  87. 

Goodell,  H.  H.,  10,  11,  17,  62,  78,  88,  94. 

Goodrich,  C.  L.,  12. 

Graham,  R.  D.,  11. 

Hamilton,  J..  12. 

Hardy,  J.  C,  9,  11,  87,  94. 

Harris,  A.  W.,  11. 

Harter,  G.  A.,  11,  94. 

Hartzog,  H.  S.,  11. 

Hays,  W.  M.,  9,  10,  11,  31,  53,  61. 

Heileman,  W.  H.,  12. 

Henry,  W.  A.,  10,  12,  78,  87. 

Herff,  B.  von,  11. 

Hilgard,  E.  W.,  6.  117. 

Hills,  J.  L.,  12,  193. 

Hitchcock,  A.  S.,  12. 

Hite,  B.  H.,  12. 

Hogenson,  J.  C,  12. 

Holton,  N.  G..  12. 

Hopkins,  A.  1).,  6,  12,  180,  184. 

Hopkins,  C.  G.,  5,  6.  11,  89,  95,  111,  123,  125,  146. 

Houston,  D.F..9,  12,  59,87. 

Hume,  H.  H..  11. 

Hunt,  T.  F.,  9.  10,  31,  61,  74. 

Hurst,  L.  A.,  12. 

Hutt.  H.  L.,  12,  179. 

Ireland.  M.  L..  12. 

Jenkins,  E.  H.,  9,  10,  11,  32,  62,  87.  193. 

Jesse,  R.  H.,  10,  33. 

Johnson,  A.  E.,  12. 

Johnson,  J.  C.  12. 

Johnson.  W.  G.,  11. 

Jones,  A.  H.,  11. 

Jordan.  W.  H.,  9.  10,  11,  44,  52.  87.  193. 

Kilgore,  B.  W..  9,  11,  87,  95,  111,  123.  146.  193. 

Kilgore,  Mrs.  B.  YY.,  11. 

195 


196 


INDEX    OF    NAMES. 


King.  F.  II..  :..  12,  104. 

Kyle.  E.  J..  12. 

Lane,  C.  B..  12. 

Lang-worthy,  C.  P.,  12, 

Lawson,  H.  W.,  12. 

Lazenby,  W.  R..  10,  62. 

Lewis.  ('.  W..  12. 

Liggett.  W.  M..  11,  87.  193. 

Luminis.  G.  M„  11. 

Mackintosh,  R.  S.,  11. 

McDonnell,  H.  B.,  11. 

McKenney,  R.  E.  B.,  12,  168. 

Mea  1,  F...  10.  12,  83. 

Means,  J.  H.,  12. 

Mell.  P.  H..  12.  42. 

Metcalf.  II..  6,  12,  169. 

Metcalf,  Mrs.  H.,  12. 

Miller.  T.  E..  12,  77,87. 

Mitchell,  J.  H.,  11. 

Morse,  F.  W.,  11. 

Mumford,  F.  B.,  ti,  11,  137. 

Myers.  W.  B.,  11. 

Myers.  Mrs.  \Y.  S..  11. 

Neale.  A.  T.,  10,  11. 

Nelson,  .1.  W..  12. 

Nichols.  E.  R.,  11,  94. 

Nichols,  Mrs.  E.  R.,  11. 

Noble,  J.  B.,  11. 

Northrop,  C,  11,  33,  77,  94. 

Norton,  J.  B.,  12. 

Norton,  J.  B.  S.,  11. 

Oakley.  R.  A.,  12. 

Orton,  W.  A.,  6, 12,  160. 

Palmer,  W.  C,  12. 

Pammel.  L.  H.,  6.  168. 

Patterson,  H.  J.,  10,  11,  54,  193. 

Patterson,  J.  K.,  10,  11.  17,  33. 

Patterson,  Mrs.  J.  K.,  11. 

Pember,  F.  R.,  12. 

Penny,  C.  L.,  11. 

Perkins,  W.  R.,  11. 

Perky,  S.  H.,  11. 

Piper,  C.  V.,  12. 

Plumb,  C.  S.,  6,  146. 

Price,  H.  C,  11. 

Price,  Mrs.,  11. 

Purinton,  D.  B..  12,  89. 

Kane,  F.  W.,  11,  179. 

Rane.  Mrs.  F.  W.,  11. 

Redding,  R.  J.,  11,  111,  193. 

Ritzman,  E.  G.,  12. 

Rodes,  N.,  11. 

Rommel,  G.  M.,  12. 

Rnmsey,  W.  E.,  12. 

Sampson,  D.  L.,  11. 

Schreiner,  <)..  12. 

Schroeder,  F.  C,  12. 

Bchulte,  J.  I.,  12. 

Scofield,  C.  S.,  12. 

Scott,  A.  C,  11. 

Scovell,  M.  A.,  9,  10,  11.  :  2,  87, 193. 

SCOVell,  Mrs.  M.  A.,  11. 

Shamel,  A.  D.,  10,  62. 

Shepperd,  A.  T.,  11.      . 


31.  33,63.  74,  75,  77, 


Shepperd,  J.  H.,  9, 11,  84,  87.  193. 

Silvester,  R.  W..  11. 

Smith,  C.  B.,  12. 

Smith.  .1.  B..  6,  180,  182,  184. 

Smith,  J.  D..  11. 

Smith,  J.  G..  11. 

Snyder,  J.  L..  9.  11.  21.  86,  87. 

Spillman,  W.  J..  12,  53. 

Stevens,  F.  L.,  6,  11.  163,  165,  179. 

Stewart.  J.  H..  12 

Stimson,  R.  W.,11,  94. 

Stone,  J.  L..  11. 

Stone,  W.  E.,  9,  10,  11,  33,  56,  78,  83,  87. 

Storms,  A.  B.,  11. 

Stnart.  D.,12. 

Stubbs,  J.  E.,  10,  33. 

Summers,  H.  E.,  11,  192. 

Surface,  H.  A.,  12. 

Symons,  T.  B.,  11. 

Tait,  C.  E.,  12. 

Taliaferro,  T.  H.,  11. 

Thompson.  W.  0.,  9,  10,  11, 17,  33,  77.  87,  89 

Thome,  C.  E.,  6,  11,  60,  62,  85,  117.  127.  193. 

Tracy,  W.  W.,  12. 

True,  A.  C,  9,  10,12,21,  ! 

85,  87. 
Tyler,  H.  W.,  9,  10,  11,  86. 
Tyler,  Mrs.  H.  W.,  11. 
Veiteh,  F.  P.,  12. 

Vincen heller,  W.  G.,  11. 

Voorhees,  E.  B.,  6,  9,  11,  20,  87,  132,  193. 

Wagner,  T.  B.,  11. 

Warburton,  C.  W.,  12. 

Warner,  J.  F.,  12. 

Washburn,  F.  L.,  11,  184. 

Waters,  H.  J.,  10. 

Webb,  W.,  11,  184. 

Webber,  H.  A.,  11. 

Webber,  H.  J.,  10,  12,  61. 

Weed,  C.  M.,  11,  180,  182, 189. 

Weed,  H.  E.,  11. 

Wheeler,  C.  F.,  12. 

Wheeler,  H.  J.,  9,  10,  12,  31,  32,  54,  84,  87. 

White,  D.  D.,  11. 

White.  F.  S.,  11. 

White,  H.  C,  9,  10,  11,  17,  33,  63,  75.  77.  87 

Whitney,  M.,  6,  12,  111. 

Whitson,  A.  R.,  10,  83. 

Widtsoe.  J.  A..  12. 

Wilcox.  E.  M.,  165. 

Wilcox,  E.  V.,  12. 

Wiley,  H.  W.,  6,  12,  142. 

Williams,  C.  G.,  11. 

Willonghby,  C.  L.,  11. 

Wilson.  J.  W.,  12. 

Wing,  H.  H.,  10,  74. 

Winston,  G.  T.,  11,57,89. 

Withers,  W.  A.,  10,  11,  53,  54. 

Woll,  F.  W..  12. 

Wonders,  W.  K..  12. 

Woods,  A.  F.,  12,  172. 

Woods,  C.  D.,  10,  11,  32,  193. 

Woodworth,  C.  W.,  6,  186. 

Worst,  J.  H.,  9,  11,  87. 


<i» 


THE  AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS. 


Alabama — 

College  Station:  Auburn;  J.  F.  Dog- 
ear. a 

Cant'l>rakr  Station:    Un,ioritqwn;  J.  M. 

Richeson." 
Tuskegee   station:  Tuskegee;  G.    W, 

Carver. a 
&U&K.X— -Sitka:  C.  C.  Georgeson.& 
Aeizona — Tn<son:  R.  H.  Forbes/' 
Arkansas — Fayetfeville:    W.   Gh    Vincen- 

heller.  a 
California — Berkeley:  E.  W.  Hilgard.^ 
Colorado— i-oW    Collin*:    L.  G.  Carpen- 
ter, o 
Connecticut — 

State    Station:  ^ifetb    Haven;   E.    H. 

Jenkins. f/ 
Storrs    Station:   Stem)   L.   A.  Clin- 
ton. « 
Delaware— Newark:  A.  T.  Neale.« 
Florida— Lake  (My;  T.  H.  Taliaferro. « 
Georgia — Experiment:  R.  J.  Redding. « 
Hawaii — 

Federal     Station:   Honolulu;   J.     G. 

Smith.  (' 
Sugar     Planters'    Station:  Honolulu; 
C.  F.  Eckartja 
Idaho — Moscow:  H.  T.  French. « 
Illinois — Urlana:  E.  Davenport. « 
Indiana — Lafayette:  A.  Goss." 
Iowa — ikmes:  C.  F.  Curtiss.0 
Kansas— Manhattan:  J.  T.  Willard.« 
Kentucky — Lexington:  M.  A.  Scovell.« 
Louisiana — 

State  Station:    Baton   Rouge. 

Sugar  Station:    Audubon  Park,  New 

Orleans. 
North    Louisiana    Station:  Calhoun; 
W:  C.  Stubbs." 
Maine— Orono:  C.  D.  Woods. « 
Maryland — College  Park:  H.   J.  Patter- 
son.*'' 
Massachusetts — Amherst:  H.    H.    Good- 
ell. « 
Michigan — Agricultural    College:    C.     D. 
Smith. « 


Minnesota — St.  Anthony  l'"rk,  .v.    Paul: 

W.  > I.  Liggett. o 
Mississippi — Agricultural   College.:  W.  L. 

Hutchinson." 
MISSOURI — 

College    Station:    ('nhnnhin;    F.     B. 

Mumtord.^ 
Fruit  Station:    Mountxmi    Grove;    P. 
Evans." 
Montana — Bozeman:  V.  B.  Linfield. '' 
Nebraska — Lincoln:  E.  A.  Burnett." 
Nevada— Reno:  J.  E.  Stubl .- 
:  New  Hampshire — Durhaid:  W.D.Gibbs." 
New  Jersey — New  Brunswick:  E.  B.  Voor- 

hees." 
New  Mexico — MesUlu  Park:  L.Foster." 
\  New  York— 

State  Station:  Geneva;  W.H.  Jordan. « 
Cornell     Station:      Ithaca;     L.     H. 
Bailey. « 
North    Carolina — Raleigh:  B.    W.   Kil- 

gore. " 
North  Dakota — Agrirnlturril    College:  J. 

H.  Worst. « 
Ohio — Wooster:  C.  E.  Thorne.0 
Oklahoma — Stillwater:  J.  Fields. « 
Oregon — Corrallis:  J.  Withyconibe. « 
Pennsylvania — fSftpti      College:    H.       P. 

Armsby.« 
Porto  Rico — Maiiagu.cz:  F.  D.Gardner.  & 
Rhode        Island — Kingston:       FL        J. 

Wheeler,  « 
South  Carolina — Clemson  College:  P.  H. 

Mell." 
South  Dakota — Brookings:   J.   W.   Wil- 
son, a 
Tennessee — Knoxrille:  A.  M.  Soule.a 
Texas—  College  Station:  John  A.  Craig. « 
Utah—  Logan:  J.  A.  Widtsoe." 
Vermont — Burlington:  J.  L.  Hills. « 
Virginia — Blacksburg:  J.  M.  McBryde.^ 
Washington — Pullman:  E.  A.  Bryan. « 
West  Virginia — Morgantown:  J. H.Stew- 
art. « 
Wisconsin— Madison:  W.  A.  Henry.  <' 
Wyoming — Laramie:  B.  C.  Buffuni." 


a  Director. 


&  Special  agent  in  charge. 


c  Acting  director. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 


3  1262  08927  9052 


